Keep Holding On
by NataliaRoma97
Summary: "...everything is different. Just promise me things will get better." The Original met his fiancée's gaze, "You have my word." Hope is gone, enemies seem to surround them on all sides. Things are changing in the Quarter, will Talia and Elijah's love be strong enough to get them through it all? Now on season 2. *Sequel to You and Me: By Your Side
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N Welcome to season 2!**_

_You're not alone, together we stand_

_I'll be by your side, you know I'll take your hand_

Talia soon-to-be-Mikealson sighed as she fidgeted with the white fabric clinging to her form. The royal blue sash caused her dark blue eyes to ignite as her long black hair hung down passed her bare shoulders. This was to be the final fitting and she was incredibly excited to wear this dress but she had this nagging feeling something else was going on in the city, her city, her home now.

"You look beautiful," a voice announced from behind her and Talia turned around to find a certain blonde bartender. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you. I just saw you in the window and thought I'd say hi."

Talia smiled and quickly gave the blonde a short hug, "It's good to see you. How have you been?"

Cami returned her smile, "Good, just learning to adjust, dealing with school. How are you? I mean I know the wedding's in a few weeks, any pre-wedding jitters or cold feet."

The dark haired vampire smirked, "If I had cold feet I would've bolted a _long_ time ago."

Cami looked down at her gown, "This dress is amazing."

"Thank you, it was my mom's. I just altered it a bit."

"Well, I should get going. I'll see you at the wedding," Cami said as she turned to leave the shop.

"Bye," Talia called before turning back to her reflection. "If nothing goes wrong."

The young vampire returned to the compound later that evening after accomplishing various errands for the upcoming wedding. Crossing off a few things from her to do list, she set off up the stairs to finish up the last of one of her papers for college. Her classes had begun two weeks prior and she would not let herself fall behind, Elijah was a large help when it came to her studies but also a terrible distraction.

As she trekked up to her and Elijah's room she passed Haley's, which was empty, as it was often lately, and her heart dropped at the sight of the empty crib just through the adjourning door. Hope was gone. Safe, but gone.

The last few months had been tough for all of them, especially Haley, who was attempting to transition into a Hybrid with much difficulty. After a few weeks of their ruse to fool the city, Talia came upon the idea of having the wedding as soon as possible as to try to continue on as normally as possible and perhaps instill just a bit of joy into their lives. Elijah had agreed after some persuasion and helped her when he could with wedding plans but was often called away to deal with one outbreak or another in the Quarter.

That was another problem. The Quarter was on the brink of chaos constantly with Francesca rallying the wolves, the witches still hell bent on the destructing of their family under Ester's influence, and even Marcel had retreated into his own life, keeping his whereabouts and dealings a secret.

The young woman hung up the garment bag in the back of her closet, hidden from Elijah's prying eyes. She had mentioned she was making some alterations to the dress to the Original and he had been trying to take a peek at the dress ever since, particularly when she tried it on. Just as Talia put the last box in place to conceal the gown, her cell phone rang shrilly.

"Hello," she answered.

"Hey Tal," the voice of a young witch replied.

Talia smiled, "Hey Di, how's my favorite witch today?"

"Frustrated, I'm trying to figure out this spell and I just…"she sighed.

"Hey, you'll figure it out. You're a smart girl," the vampire assured her. "And you should be focusing more on school."

"I know," Davina signed.

"Oh for God sakes," a male muffled voice sounded from the other end of the line.

"Di, is there someone there with you?" Talia asked, barely concealing her concern. Something about that voice seemed familiar.

"No, it's just some strange street guy with a crazy vendetta, probably insane," Davina responded.

"Okay," Talia replied unsure.

"So, did you pick up your dress? How does it look?" Davina demanded.

Talia grinned, "Perfect."

"And I'm sure you look perfect in it," a familiar deep voice added from behind her.

The dark haired vampire turned around to find Elijah casually leaning against the door frame with a slight smirk on his lips. Talia's grin grew at the sight of him. "Hey Di, I'll call you back later, okay?"

"Okay, bye."

"Bye," she hung up and returned the phone to her pocket. "Hey."

"I trust your afternoon errands were fruitful," Elijah said as he studied the room unashamedly.

Talia rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, "Yes, and you will not see the dress until our wedding day." Elijah continued to make his way about the room, eyes scanning everything. Talia grabbed his jaw, forcing him to meet her blue eyes. "Do I make myself clear?"

The Original grinned wickedly, "Perfectly." The elder vampire then took advantage of their proximity and pulled Talia into a deep kiss. He pulled away but Talia's eyes were still closed. "Dinner is nearly ready." With that he disappeared out of the room causing Talia to groan.

"Damn him!" She'd have to wait until after dinner to finish that paper.

Klaus and Elijah were already seated at the dining table when Talia entered the room and sat down across from Elijah with Klaus at the head. Since it was just the three of them, or Haley some nights, Talia rotated between sitting next to or across from her fiancée but since she was slightly irritated with him for trying to find her dress and then distracting her with a kiss, she chose the latter.

Dinner was quiet, as it had been lately. Klaus, for a change, hardly spoke a word. He'd been eerily quiet lately, except on full moons when the moonlight rings worn by the Guerra wolves sapped at his strength. Only then did he make a lot of noise. Talia hoped the wedding might lighten his spirits, even if only temporarily.

"I managed to secure a few more properties today," Elijah announced nonchalantly.

"Ever the activist, brother," Klaus grunted as he slurped up his wine. The Original's fiancée rolled her eyes; for the last few weeks Elijah had taken charge of a preservation society for the Quarter and she knew that it was for a much larger reason than simple public good.

Talia ate her dinner silently but nearly jumped when she felt Elijah's foot press into the side of her calf. Her eyes snapped up to his dark brown ones. She glared whilst he tried to hide a smirk. Talia huffed, she'd get her revenge later. Formulating a plan, she quickly finished her plate and rose from her chair, excusing herself.

On the way back up to her room she heard someone down the hall. Quietly she snuck over and found Haley sitting on the floor, holding a blanket from Hope's crib tightly to her chest. Her face and neck was covered in blood but the tears leaking from her brown eyes were slowly washing away the red stains.

"Haley," she said softly causing the new hybrid to look up at her.

Haley frantically began wiping the water from her cheeks and scrambled up to her feet, "Hey, uh, sorry, I just…"

Talia shook her head, "Come on, let's get you cleaned up." The vampire led her to a nearby bathroom, gestured for the hybrid to sit on the counter, as Talia wetted a washcloth and began to clean the blood off her friend.

This wasn't the first time Talia had done this for her. It had happened quite frequently within the last few months. Haley's emotions were all over the place and losing her daughter had been a traumatic experience she was still dealing with. "I'm sorry," Haley blubbered.

"Hey," Talia said sternly, "Stop apologizing. Besides, I'd rather I find you like this than Klaus or Elijah."

Haley managed to chuckle a bit, "Yeah, they'd probably go ballistic. I just want to stop feeling so…useless."

The vampire gave her a sympathetic look as she dabbed at the blood on Haley's lips, "We're all kind of useless at the moment." Haley nodded in agreement. Talia gently placed her hand on Haley's shoulder. "We all will get through this."

"I wish I had your optimism," Haley declared as she hopped off the counter.

Talia shrugged as she rung out the cloth in the sink, "After all we've been through in this family, a little optimism can get you pretty far."

"Thanks, I'm gonna go try and get some sleep," Haley announced as she left the room.

"Good night," Talia called after her but received no response. The dark haired vampire sighed and made her way back to her room.

Standing there, in process of shedding the day's clothes, was a half-naked Elijah. He looked up and met her blue eyes, "I had anticipated you would've beaten me in turning in for the night."

"I ran into a small complication, one I don't think will be remedied anytime soon," Talia replied honestly as she began to shrug out of her clothing as well.

She slipped on a nightgown just as Elijah's hands wrapped around her waist. "I do hope this complication is not wedding related. You have been far too stressed these last few weeks," Elijah gently kissed her neck.

Talia turned around to face her fiancée and wrap her arms around his neck, locking her wrists together. "It wasn't. But I can assure you, our wedding will be timeless."

The Original smiled and leaned in to kiss her soundly, "Then I shall wait in anticipation."

Talia grinned and kissed him once more, "As will I."

_*15 years later*_

_"Wow," I breathed, "Losing Hope really messed you guys up."_

_Talia nodded, "She was family, more than that she was the promise of a renewed family. And losing her, broke us."_

_"But you and Elijah were getting married, that had to be exciting."_

_She grinned, "Yes, it was. But it wasn't the easiest road."_


	2. Chapter 2

_When it gets cold, and feels like the end_

Talia signed as she returned to the compound after class at Loyola. She'd gotten her paper back, passed of course, but on the way home she'd witnessed a few werewolves badgering a local music store owner. The dark haired girl flashed upstairs to put away her books and double check on a few wedding details. Her next stop was to peruse what confections the caterer had prepared for the reception.

Suddenly, she felt strong arms wrap around her waist, effectively calming the vampire as she leaned back into her fiancée's chest. "Any success?" Talia asked, knowing Elijah had gone out to make sure the Guerra family did not buy and renovate a warehouse into a casino.

"Yes, and one of the wearer's the moonlight rings was at the meeting," Elijah answered.

"That's the last one isn't it?" Talia asked. Over the last several weeks he had been working on locating all of the rings that weakened Klaus each and every full moon.

"Mm-hmm," Elijah breathed into her neck. "Would you care to join me to tell him the good news?" Talia nodded and took his hand as he led her to Klaus' art room.

Classical chamber music blared loudly from an old record player as Klaus tore apart and threw across the room, blank canvases. Elijah bent down and picked up one of the torn canvases. "I suppose we shall have to call this your white period." Talia rolled her eyes at him.

Klaus turned to them, "I'm missing a crucial color in my palate, that of my enemy's blood."

"Well I would recommend a Venetian red with just a dash of rust," Elijah suggested.

"It's been months," Klaus roared angrily. "I've adhered to our plan, sit and do nothing, sell our grief. And now my child is safely away and another full moon is upon us! Another night of pathetic weakness as the moonlight rings steal my strength!" Klaus paused for a moment, thousands of emotions filling his pale blue eyes. "The inertia is killing me, I need to act, I-I need, I need to spill blood."

"Well then you'll be pleased to know that I've located the last of the twelve rings forged with your blood," Elijah announced.

Klaus grinned, "Then it is time."

"And not a moment too soon," Talia spoke up. "I'm worried about Haley."

Klaus smirk disappeared, "She looks well enough."

Talia rolled her eyes, "She looks no better than you do. If you two would treat each other as more than just passing acquaintances-"

"She has you two to help her," the Hybrid pointed out.

The young woman gave her future brother-in-law a hard look, "Sadly, like the father of her child, she prefers to fight her demons alone. And nothing I do or so can change that." With a huff, Talia walked out of the room.

Elijah found her a few minutes later, angrily stuffing embossed invitations into envelopes. "Are you all right?" he questioned as he watched her for a moment.

Talia looked up at him, her blue eyes blazing as he slowly approached her, "Are any of us? We're all grasping at strings of reality, of sanity. And yet we're all stuck in this perpetual limbo of lies and pain, with no end in sight."

Gently, Elijah began rubbing her shoulders, feeling her muscles relax from his ministrations, "I promise you, we will all survive this." He dipped down and kissed her head lightly.

Suddenly, a noise echoed from the courtyard. "I think we have a visitor," Talia said as she rose from her chair and the two exited the room. The two silently peered out over the railing to see a blonde working her way up to the stairs. "It's Cami." Klaus appeared behind her before zipping away.

"Klaus, I know you're here somewhere," Cami called out. "We need to talk."

Elijah stepped out into the muted light, "He doesn't wish to see you."

Cami jumped and turned to him, "Elijah, where the hell did you come from?"

"I beg your pardon, aren't you the one who's trespassing?" Elijah pointed out stepping closer to the blonde.

"Elijah, relax," Talia said giving away her presence as she joined her fiancée. "Cami, Klaus doesn't care much for conversation these days and he wouldn't care for that fact that you put yourself in danger by coming here."

"I'm already in danger," Cami protested. "I have Guerra's following me like it's a police state. The city's being run by gangsters and you guys aren't doing anything about it. Look, Marcel took them out a hundred years ago, don't you think he might be up for lend a hand?"

"Thank you for coming, Camille," Elijah said politely, stepping to the side for her to leave.

Cami huffed and began to walk away but turned back, "I know your family is grieving, but I know that you don't believe those rumors that Marcel killed the baby. So if you want help taking down the Guerra's, you have a weapon right across the river just waiting to be fired. Use it." With that the blonde bartender left the compound.

A small smile graced Elijah's lips, "I like her spirit."

Klaus silently appeared next the couple, "So do I.

"She is right though," Elijah stated, "Marcel may prove to be a valuable asset against the Guerra's, especially if we plan on attacking tonight." Klaus was silent for a moment but nodded.

"Well, while you two concoct some sort of battle plan, I have appetizers to sample," Talia announced as she kissed Elijah's cheek. "I'll be back as soon as I can. Don't you two dare start the fun without me."

Talia returned home in the late afternoon, her stomach stuffed with delectable samples from the caterer. As she journeyed upstairs, she overheard voices from Haley's room and snuck over. "I understand this is difficult for you," she heard Elijah say as she arrived, for some reason he was holding parts of the crib in his hand.

Haley interrupted him, "What's difficult is knowing that Francesca Guerra is still alive after she was the one who plotted with the witches to kill my baby."

"Whoa, whoa, people let's settle down a bit," Talia demanded as she entered the room and inserted herself between the two. "Haley, you will have your vengeance, I promise you this."

"Well then, until then this is still my room," the new hybrid glared at Elijah, "and I'll tell you when it's appropriate to clean it out." Haley took the boards from the crib and stepped aside for Elijah to leave. He did so and Talia followed, glancing back at Haley sympathetically.

"I realize that we are finally moving forward as a family but pushing Haley to do so when she is not ready was not the most brilliant idea you've ever had," Talia told her fiancée.

He turned to her, guilt in his brown eyes, "I may have overstepped my boundaries, but Haley needs something to snap her out this…rut she's dug herself into."

"But pushing her like that isn't the way to do that. We need to give her what she desires, what she truly needs, revenge," Talia said causing Elijah to give her an exasperated look. "Look, I know it isn't the best option but taking her revenge will force her to see that revenge won't help her to heal and that she must somehow accept that."

Elijah gently cupped her cheek, "Sometimes, I believe you are a little too brilliant for your own good."

She smiled sadly, "If I was truly brilliant I wouldn't have gotten myself mixed up in all this but life doesn't always turn out the way we think it should."

The Original kissed her lightly before drawing back, "Come, we must meet up with Klaus. No doubt he has returned from speaking with Marcel and will have finalized a plan of attack." Talia accepted his outstretched hand and the two joined Klaus at the other end of the compound.

"We have the Guerra's where we want them. We have them waiting, we have them worried, and we know there an army with no defenses against an Original," Klaus announced.

"We don't know that for sure," Talia reasoned. There were too many unknown variables, someone had the white oak stake that had been lost the night they lost Hope.

"I'm willing to gamble," Klaus assured them.

"It's too risky, the stake didn't just disappear, someone has it," Elijah pointed out, echoing Talia's thoughts.

"One enemy at a time," Klaus suggested. "In the end we'll slay them all." The hybrid sat down in one of the chairs at the table as his face was distorted with pain. "Tonight, we just need to plant the right seeds, and for that we need help. I've picked up a friend of Marcel's who will plant those seeds pertaining to the location of the stake, with the help of a few others along the way. It should be quite the game of chase."

Haley then suddenly appeared in the doorway, "Hey." The three vampires simply stared at her. "If we're taking down the Guerra's, I'm in." Elijah glanced at Talia for a moment and she nodded earnestly.

"Very well," Elijah agreed. "Now we're taking the twelve original rings. Four of them sit on the hands of the Guerra brothers, one on Oliver, one of Francesca, three on her home security detail, and the rest scattered amongst her lackeys. Now each ring is distinguishable by its setting, gauche, like those that wear them."

"If they believe they can get their hands on the stake, they will come for me when I am weak," Klaus emphasized. "Each ring we retrieve will strengthen me but I will still be at a disadvantage."

"Therefore, any hope of our success depends entirely on us working together," Talia declared.

Both Klaus and Haley looked down at the table. "The two of you can no longer afford to retreat to separate corners," Elijah impressed on the two hybrids.

Klaus sighed as he rose to his feet, "This is our fight. You ready for battle, Haley?"

"Just promise me that Francesca doesn't come out of this alive," Haley demanded dangerously.

The Original Hybrid smirked, "Her head will be delivered to you on a silver platter, little wolf."

"Well, I suppose that leaves me with dealing with the last piece of the puzzle," Talia announced. "I'll be back soon."

The raven haired arrived outside of Cami's apartment in time to see a couple of Francesca's men trashing the place. "Where's the stake?" One of them demanded.

The blonde bartender sighed, "Fine, whatever. What do I care? This isn't even my fight." Angrily, she wrote something down on a piece of paper and handed it to the wolves. "Here, this is where you'll find what you want. Now all you need is my uncle's key."

The wolf glared at her, "And where's that?"

Cami rolled her eyes and grabbed the key off of its hook next to the other sets of keys, "Hiding in plain sight, genius." With that she opened the door for them to leave. As soon as the intruders were gone Cami turned to the window and nodded to Talia. With a thankful nod, Talia zipped off back to the compound.

"Cami's just sent them to the warehouse," Talia announced to the two Originals, Marcel and Haley.

Klaus groaned, "Good, because the moon has just reached its peak."

"Then let's get started," Elijah stated. Everyone nodded and began to leave the room, Marcel to the warehouse, Haley to the other end of the compound, and Klaus to his art studio. Elijah grabbed Talia's wrist before she could leave the room. "Please be careful tonight."

Talia smiled gently and kissed his cheek, "I'll be fine. This will end tonight and our family will be on its way to recovery." Elijah quickly pecked her lips and zipped away to his station, outside of Francesca's house. The young vampire quickly got in her place and shrank into the shadows to await the inevitable fight. She and Haley were charged with protecting Klaus until enough of the rings were taken care of that he could begin to fight back. Footsteps echoed off the quiet walls as they approached. Talia's blue eyes narrowed as she tensed, ready to pounce.

About three wolves rounded the corner and she attacked. Ignoring the part of her that thought it was gross and wrong, Talia pushed her hand forcefully through the first wolf's chest and pulled out his heart, tossing it away. The other two turned to face her and she noticed one of them was wearing a moonlight ring. Using her powers, she flung the wolf with the ring back into the wall whilst she dealt with the other. She dodged a blow and snapped the wolf's neck before zipping to the wolf against the wall. She summoned the ring into the hand and smiled, "Thank you." With another wave of her hand, his neck snapped viciously to the side and he fell down dead.

Talia then ran into the courtyard and found two more wolves waiting there. She sent one of them flying back as she grabbed the other by the front of his shirt and pulled into her punch. She then ripped his heart out his chest and turned around just in time to plunge her hand into the other wolf's chest before he could get a swipe in. He stopped and stared at her, fear in his eyes and Talia froze. She glanced down at the wolf's body on the ground, she had killed him without a thought but seeing the fear in this wolf's eyes caused guilt to rush over her. Withdrawing her hand, she threw him back. The wolf stared at her for a moment before running towards her again. Suddenly, Haley appeared and ripped the wolf's heart out of his chest.

"Thanks," Talia said appreciatively.

Haley turned to her and nodded, "There's still a few upstairs but I think Klaus has got a handle on them. I'm off to find Oliver."

"I'm gonna go see if Elijah needs any assistance," Talia turned to leave but Haley's hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"Can you please ask Elijah to let her escape?" Haley asked, "I want to finish her off myself." Talia recoiled a little at the pure hatred in Haley's words but nodded all the same and zipped off to join her fiancée.

The young vampire arrived just in time to see her future husband rip off a few of a werewolf's limbs. "Well, this is romantic," she said giggling slightly.

Elijah turned to her with a smirk, "I am aware of your aversion to extreme violence but would you care to go bowling?" He held up the head of one of the wolf's he'd dismembered.

Talia rolled her eyes, "Just this once, I believe violence is justified." Elijah gestured for her to go on as he swung the door open. Francesca soon appeared on the other side of the doorstep once the head had succeeded in rolling into the hallway. Her brothers soon followed.

The she-wolf smirked arrogantly, "It's fine, they can't come in."

"Can't I?" Talia asked innocently.

Francesca just chuckled, "Don't bluff me, you can't win."

"You mobsters always suffer from such hubris," Elijah observed. "Did you know that Al Capone thought himself invincible in his day and in the end he was sentenced to the wretch filth of Alcatraz, for which of his atrocities? Anyone?"

"Grand larceny?" Talia offered.

"Good guess, my dear, but not quite," Elijah replied giving her a small smile. "A failure to pay his taxes, of course the devil's in the details isn't it?"

Talia stepped forward and looked about Francesca's house as Elijah leaned on the door jamb. "My, my, you have a lovely home here."

"Yes, I was so pleased when the city too my suggestion to protect its heritage status and invoke eminent domain," Elijah declared causing the smirk to slip off of Francesca's face.

"So I suppose this house now belongs to the public," Talia continued sharing a knowing look with Elijah.

Elijah straightened up and stepped right up to the doorstep. "And as such, anyone can enter without invitation." Slowly, dramatically in Talia's opinion, he took a step into the house with ease instilling fear into all the wolves present.

Later that evening, Talia and Elijah returned to the compound to find Klaus in his studio, quite literally painting with his enemy's blood. "I'm still not at full strength," the Hybrid stated without looking up from his canvas. "Which of the rings are unaccounted for?"

"Just one," Elijah replied. "I must say, the brothers fought valiantly before Miss Guerra escaped."

Klaus turned to look at the couple, "You let her get away."

"Not exactly," Talia disagreed. A loud crash echoed from across the compound. "And I see now we may have been wrong in allowing Haley to go after her." Talia ran out of the room and into Haley's to find the new hybrid destroying the crib where her daughter was to have lain. The black haired girl grabbed her friend and pulled her away. "Haley, please!"

The brunette stilled and Talia released her grip on her. "I killed her," Haley cried. "Francesca looked me in the eye and begged me for her life as I tore her apart. But I don't feel better, I don't feel peace, I don't feel anything."

Elijah, who Talia hadn't noticed had followed her, stepped up, "It's perfectly natural given what you've-"

"Nothing about what I am, Elijah, is natural," Haley cut him off.

"As a hybrid you will begin to feel things with a greater intensity. It will take time to master control," Elijah began to explain.

Haley shook her head, "I don't want to live like this. I hate it. When I was living with the crescents in the bayou I finally understood the purity of being a wolf, the nobility. I killed eight wolves tonight before I got to Francesca, eight of my own people. What's noble about that? I acted no better than…"

"Than a vampire," Talia completed for her, understanding where she was going with this. Vampires, their true nature was monstrous. And the things she had done that night, weighed on her as well. But the only thing that made her feel only slightly better was the fact that she'd done it for her family.

Haley took a shuddering breath, "Everything has changed. I was a mother and now I'm a monster. Things are different now. You can't tell me they're not."

"Haley," Talia called as the hybrid walked away.

Elijah noticed the tears forming in Talia's eyes and quickly drew her to him in an embrace. Talia wrapped her arms around him, holding on tightly as if he would slip away. "She's right, everything is different. Just promise me things will get better."

The Original met his fiancée's gaze, "You have my word."

_*15 years later*_

_I stared at Talia, slight stunned, "How many wolves did you kill that night?"_

_She looked down ashamedly, "Three, and nearly two others. At the time I didn't even think about it, all I could think about was protecting my family."_

_I nodded, "I understand. So with Francesca out of the way, were you guys able to get things back to normal?"_

_"Not exactly."_


	3. Chapter 3

**_A/N Whew! This episode was difficult but luckily I managed to finish it in time! Thank you to WarriorWitch13 for pointing out that I had forgotten to flash forward to Talia and Hadley in the end of the last chapter. I have no fixed it and we are ready to press on!_**

_There's no place to go you know I won't give in_

_No I won't give in_

"Darling, would you pass the sugar?" Elijah requested with a small smile as he and Talia ate breakfast outside of a small café in the Quarter.

Talia returned his smile and passed him the requested sugar, "But of course." The Original added the sugar to his tea as she took a bite of the café's delicious scrambled eggs. "You know, it's nice to be out and about in the city without having any errands to run and no enemies to be on guard for."

"Well, we aren't completely out of the woods yet," Elijah reminded her.

The young woman rolled her eyes, "Can we just enjoy a simple breakfast for once?"

"But of course," he smirked in response, causing Talia to grin in response. The two continued to eat their breakfast comfortably. Nearly a half hour later, Elijah checked his watch. "We had best return home."

He stood up, paid the bill, and offered his hand to his fiancée. She accepted his hand and the two walked back to the compound, conversing easily and comfortably. However, a surprise awaited their return to the compound. Bodies were strewn about the courtyard, blood everywhere. Elijah released Talia's hand to crouch down and better examine a female corpse against the fountain, the majority of the dried blood on her torn open neck. "Elijah, there's bloody prints," Talia pointed out pulling his attention to a set of bloody paw prints leading to human footprints up the stairs. The two vampires shared a look before following the trail of blood.

Upstairs they found Haley soaking in the tub, the running water rushing over her feet. "Come to check up on me?" she inquired glancing over at them.

"You've had an eventful evening," Elijah observed the body of a blonde leaning against one of the walls, dead with her throat torn open like the others.

"Well, I was having a crappy day so Klaus took me down to the cauldron," Haley explained. "Wouldn't you know we run into some witches?"

Elijah glanced over at Talia, taking in the disappointment on her face before looking back to Haley, "Would you like me to remove your leftovers?"

The female hybrid suddenly stood up, unabashed by her nakedness. Talia quickly grabbed a nearby towel and handed it Haley, not relishing the idea of her fiancée seeing another women that vulnerable. Haley noticed Talia's less than pleased expression as she wrapped the towel around herself, "Don't judge, Talia. It's nothing worse than Klaus has ever done, and he's going to be your brother in a few weeks."

The raven haired woman met her friend's gaze, "I would hope you would hold yourself to a higher standard than Klaus."

"I'm a hybrid now," Haley insisted. "I have a werewolf temper to go with my new appetite and the witches who tried to kill my baby…they're worth nothing more than food. Excuse me." She brushed passed them and down the hall.

Talia sighed, "I knew revenge was not the best option for her."

Elijah gently brushed his hand across her cheek, "I believe there is another culprit we should question on the matter."

His fiancée nodded, "He's downstairs, reading the Art of War." The Original took her hand once more and the two journeyed downstairs. "You took her on a witch hunt!" Talia demanded when she and Elijah found Klaus.

The Hybrid barely even flinched, "I simply wanted to persuade those witches to locate the white oak stake for me, when they proved unable to do so I let Haley have her fun."

"She grows more savage by the day," Elijah declared. "Can you not see that she is falling apart?"

"Perhaps the problem is your high standards," Klaus suggested. "Haley is one of us now, being a vampire only exaggerates what you truly are. And wolves are wild things. She knows she can never live up to the pretty little picture the two of you paint of her in your head. Your judgment only hurts her more."

"We are trying to help her, and we asked you to help her, Klaus," Talia growled at her soon-to-be brother.

Klaus suddenly stood up and slammed the book on the table, "I am helping her. You two should've seen her last night, covered in witch's blood and smiling from ear-to-ear. A little less criticism from you and Haley will be fine."

"Klaus, the mother of your child deserves much better than just fine!" Elijah insisted fervently. "You will take her to the bayou, find any remaining wolves. Perhaps her people can reach her. Now more than ever she needs some sort of connection to her humanity, some degree of dignity." With that Elijah strode from the room.

Talia approached Klaus, "He meant that with a please at the end."

Klaus gave her a small smile, "I know you two are worried about her, but trust me, a little mayhem may do her some good."

Talia sighed and shook her head, "I certainly hope you're right."

She left the room but soon discovered that Elijah had left the compound, probably to see to other business. Concerning what, she wasn't sure. However, it wasn't long after she got herself some blood to drink and compelled a few workers to clean up the mess Haley had made before she got her answer about her fiancée's whereabouts.

"You left in quite a hurry," she answered her phone when Elijah called.

"I had some pressing business to see to," he replied.

Talia rolled her eyes, "I assumed as much. So why are you calling?"

"I require some assistance."

"Regarding what?"

"A certain witch friend of yours." Talia froze for a moment. "I need you try and convince her to locate the white oak stake."

"She's not overly fond of you or Klaus, what makes you think she will comply?"

"I'm hoping that if the request comes from you and another friend of hers, say Marcel, she may be more willing to cooperate."

Talia had to admit he had a point, "All right, where are we meeting?"

"Marcel's place, a half hour from now. My presence, however, has not been requested."

"On my way." Talia arrived at Marcel's place on the outskirts of the Quarter minutes later. "Hey," she greeted him.

"Hi, how are you?" Marcel replied pleasantly.

"Doing fine, thank you. I'm sorry my fiancée dragged you into this," Talia apologized.

Marcel shook his head, "I've known all of them a long time, it's nothing new."

Talia smiled a bit, "Hey quick question, have you actually seen Davina in a while?"

"No, I've only ever spoken to her over the phone the last few months." Before Talia could say another word the teenage witch in question arrived with a grin on her face. Both vampires returned her smile. "Been a long time, little Di!"

"Got your message, what's going on? Talia, what are you doing here?" Davina asked as she gave Marcel a hug and then Talia. "It's good to see you guys."

"It's great to see you too Di. And well, we both haven't seen you in a while and we wanted to know how you were doing?" Talia explained.

Marcel nodded, "Yeah, how's school? Making any new friends?"

A small blush crossed Davina's cheeks, "I don't know, this-this guy asked me out…and then he stood me up."

"He stood you up?" Marcel questioned and Davina nodded. "Say the word and he's dead."

"Would you like his head or some other appendage on a silver platter?" Talia teased eliciting a laugh from Davina. Both she and Marcel joined in.

"Look, I hate to ask you a favor, but I need a locator spell," he told the young witch.

"Something's missing, a white oak stake," Talia continued as the grin slipped off of Davina's face. "Powerful enough to kill an Original."

"Did one of them put you up to this?" Davina demanded turning to Talia. "Did your fiancée ask you to do this?"

"Di, if that stake is used on Klaus, every vampire he's sired dies too. If Elijah dies, Talia will too," Marcel said, impressing on her the seriousness of the stake. Talia was slightly touched at Marcel's concern for her safety.

"I know," Davina responded, obviously growing irritated. "But what if I do find it? I mean I'm not just going to give it Klaus. Both he and Elijah are both brutal, sadistic monsters. No offense." She added the last part for Talia's sake but the young vampire took no offense. She's witnessed many evil deeds by both her fiancée and his brother, but she's also seen the good.

"I do wish I could disagree with you," a familiar voice said from the doorway. All three of them looked up to see Elijah. "Tragically, however, you are quite right." Talia rolled her eyes as he approached them. Davina gave both younger vampires withering looks of betrayal. "Although you and I have excellent reason to find that weapon. I want to protect my family and you want to protect your friends. We'd do well to forget our grievances and join forces."

Davina shook her head, "No."

"Davina-" Marcel attempted to reason with her but she cut him off.

"No! No, I'm done listening," she insisted, turning back to Elijah. "For a long time you and your family have had all the power. You manipulate and kill anyone who gets in your way. That time is over. From now on you can know what it's like to be afraid." With that the young witch flounced away and left.

"I asked you to stay out of sight," Marcel reminded Elijah. "I wanted to speak to her face-to-face."

"Why?" Talia demanded. "So that you could piss her off?"

"I wanted to see for myself," Elijah began. "She cares for you, both of you. And yet how cavalier she was at the predicament you now face."

Marcel gazed at Elijah confused and impatient, "What are you saying?"

"She knows the stake will not be used because she knows precisely where it is," Elijah continued.

Talia's blue eyes widened, "She's had it all along."

Marcel glanced between the couple, "Then we need a new plan."

"We need to talk to Davina," Elijah insisted.

The raven haired woman nodded, "I'll find her. You two scheme away, I'll let you know when I find her." Before either man could protest she was gone.

Talia began her search by rifling through the Quarter. It was late afternoon when she received a call that was not from Marcel or Elijah, but the florist. "Hello, yes, I can come take a look at the arrangements. When? Approximately, five minutes."

She made her way to the local flower shop, a lovely place that she and Elijah had passed by many times on their dates in the city. "Hello Lacy, how are you today?" Talia greeted the young girl behind the counter. Lacy was a young redhead teen who worked in the shop after school most days. She was a sweet girl.

"Hi, Mrs. Mikaelson," the teen smiled cheekily in response.

Talia smirked, "Not quite yet. So you have my arrangement sample?" The redhead nodded and disappeared into the back room, returning a moment later with a vase of flowers.

Yellow sunflowers paired with white tuberoses amongst other green foliage. Talia beamed as she gently touched one of the sunflowers. "It's beautiful. Will all of the arrangements be ready in time?"

Lacy nodded, "Of course, if you'll just sign the approval papers we can start on them immediately."

Talia did so and waved back to the young girl as she left the shop, "Goodbye Lacy."

"Bye Mrs. Mikaelson."

The young vampire merely chuckled before resuming her search for Davina. As night fell, she did indeed find her young friend. She was at Roussos's with a young man having dinner. He was handsome enough, Talia supposed. He had brown curly hair, pale blue eyes, and an interestingly strong accent, British, or some strain of. Talia sat at the far end of the bar, behind Davina watching them from behind her glass of chardonnay. The two teens seemed to be having a good time so she dared not interrupt them, she wanted Davina to have some fun and this boy, the one she assumed Davina had mentioned earlier, was making her friend smile and laugh as she hadn't in a while.

After some time Talia texted Elijah with their location and not long after Davina left her date, most likely to answer a call from Marcel. Not long after Davina had stepped outside, another man, this one with dark skin, hair, and eyes, came up to Davina's date. Talia's interested piqued and she intently listened in on their conversation.

"You're stalling," the new man said.

"Ah, that's not creepy at all," Davina's date, Caleb, Talia believed Davina had called him. "Watching me on my own date."

"Stop complimenting her and find out what she's hiding," the new arrival ordered.

Caleb laughed lightly, "I'm wooing her, Vincent. It requires charm and personality, something you wouldn't know anything about."

The other man, Vincent, chuckled, "Our mother wants answers and if you can't do this, we'll do it my way." Talia's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, they were brothers?

"What, are you gonna bore her until she gives up the information?" Caleb quipped.

"What better way to find out if someone has a weapon then forcing them to use it?" Vincent suggested. With that the man disappeared and Talia quickly texted Elijah once more, this time in much more urgency.

"All right everyone, we're closing now for a private party!" the bartender suddenly announced. People began to clear out as Davina came back in, demanding what had happened. As Caleb explained to her, Talia shrunk back into a corner, preparing herself for the worst.

Suddenly, a werewolf approached Davina and she forced him to the ground with her powers. But this only caused a whole group of them to appear. "Can you do that with all of them?" Caleb requested sounding panicked.

"Not all at once," Davina replied.

"But I can," Talia said revealing herself as she stood in front of the two teens. With a wave of her hands she sent the wolves flying back, crashing into tables and walls.

"Talia, you followed us?!" Davina demanded.

Said vampire turned back to her, "And it's a good thing I did, now get out of here."

"You can't take them all by yourself," Davina insisted. Just as the words escaped the witch's mouth, one of the wolves bit down on Talia's neck. She screamed but Davina came to her rescue and caused the wolf to grasp his head in pain as he crumpled to his knees. "See!"

"Who the bloody hell are ya?" Davina's date, Caleb, demanded.

Talia turned back to narrowly avoid another wolf and fling him back once more. She then broke the arm of yet another by twisting his arm behind his back. "She's a friend!" Talia heard Davina tell him before she started chanting something. Talia did not have a chance to listen to the exact words before she was thrown across the room. She looked up, feeling slightly dizzy, and saw one of the wolves push Davina down only to have Caleb retaliate and get himself thrown into all the bottles of alcohol behind the bar. However, within the very next second someone arrived that caused pure and utter fear to grip Talia.

Mikael.

Talia couldn't believe her eyes but there he stood before her, in the entryway, in modern clothes, glaring at the wolves. "You filthy dogs," he snarled at them, his cold blue eyes glaring at each of them before he leapt into action. He flipped one wolf over his shoulder, before ripping the hearts out of two more simultaneously. A group of them ganged up upon the Original as Talia got to her feet. She heard Davina scream as she struggled with a wolf. The young vampire then zipped over and threw the wolf off of her friend.

Mikael paused in his rampage and gazed coldly at Davina on the ground. "Now, what an interesting turn of events." He zipped forward, slammed Talia into the wall, and dragged Davina to her feet. "I'm going to enjoy this, girl." Davina whimpered as Talia tried to get up but she knew she would not be fast enough.

Suddenly, Mikael was thrown from Davina into the wall across the room, causing the young witch to fall to the floor once more. Talia's eyes moved from her future father-in-law to see her future husband standing there staring at his father, completely astonished.

"Father?" Elijah breathed.

"Hello son, I'd hoped to see your brother first but we have some unfinished business as well," Mikael greeted Elijah threateningly. Elijah struck his father across his face but Mikael retaliated by shaving Elijah into the bar. Mikael than produced a stake, _the _white oak stake. And attempted to plunge it into Elijah's chest. Elijah grabbed his father's hands to prevent his death but cried out as Mikael punctured his skin.

At the sounds of her Elijah in pain, something stirred deep within Talia, and she forced herself onto her feet. "No!" she screamed as she summoned her power and tried to withdraw the stake from Elijah's chest. It was working but not as well as she had hoped. She'd willed the stake to fly across the room but something was preventing her from doing so, and it was draining her of her energy quickly. But still she could not drop her hands and allow Mikael to kill Elijah.

"Stop!" Davina ordered as she stood up wielding her bracelet like a weapon. Mikael did as she commanded and stepped away from Elijah, dagger and all. The blonde Original glared down at the teenage witch. "Go back now." And once more he complied, disappearing out of sight.

Talia immediately ran to Elijah to make sure he was all right, he was bleeding but she could tell the wound was already beginning to heal. Davina looked around at all of them before leaving as well. Elijah glanced over at Caleb as the young man stood up behind the bar. "Something to say?" the Original requested.

"Not me, mate. Not a bloody thing," Caleb assured them before he too left the restaurant.

Elijah turned back to the other two vampires and noticed the bites on Talia's neck. "You've been bitten," he stated as he turned her neck to inspect her injuries further.

"I'm fine," his fiancée insisted. "Once we get home, I'll drink some of Klaus' blood and it'll go away."

"You should be more careful," Marcel told her.

"And you two should've gotten here faster," Talia quipped. "Look, I maybe different than a normal vampire but I still can't handle a dozen werewolves, let alone your immortal, Original, vampire-hunting father!" Both men seemed shocked by her outburst. "I'm sorry, it's been a long day. And from the looks of things, it's going to get even more complicated around here."

Elijah gently rubbed her back, "Let's go home. Thank you for your assistance today, Marcellus."

The other vampire nodded, "Keep a look out for Davina and I'll do the same. She doesn't realize what she's gotten herself into." The couple nodded to him before leaving the restaurant and going home.

When they did return to the compound they found Klaus nursing his sorrows with a bottle of bourbon. "It's worse than we thought," he announced upon their entrance. "I met the witch, Cassie. I studied her, her presence, the way she carried herself, the fervor with which she voiced her hatred of our kind. I looked into that girl's eyes, and I swear to you, Elijah, Talia, she is not just guided by our mother, she is our mother!"

Elijah and Talia shared an alarmed look. "What is happening?" Elijah demanded in a broken whisper.

"I'm going to kill her," Klaus promised. "I'm going to boil her bones and feed them to the dogs, if that's what it takes."

"Niklaus," Elijah spoke up.

Klaus whirled around, "What? What could possibly be more important than the return of our mother?"

"Your father," Talia declared quietly, but both of them heard.

"I saw him, we both did, standing there in the flesh as you do now," Elijah explained. "He was enslaved by some spell Davina cast, he holds the stake."

"And very nearly killed Elijah with it," Talia added catching Elijah's eyes. "If she chooses to release him…"

Klaus was silent for a moment, "Well, then there's only one question we need to ask, isn't there? Which of our parents do we kill first?" Before any of the vampires could suggest one incredibly horrible parent or the other, Talia suddenly grasped her neck in pain.

Both brothers rushed to her side. "I'd nearly forgotten about that," Talia joked trying to lessen the tension.

"Talia, here, drink this," Klaus said offering her his wrist. She drank quickly from him and immediately felt better. "How did this happen?"

"Before Marcel and Elijah arrived, actually even before Davina summoned Mikael, a group of werewolves attacked Davina and I stepped in to defend her. One of them got the drop on me," Talia explained.

"Well that only adds to our problems," Klaus sighed.

"Which we shall deal with tomorrow," Talia stated definitively. Both men began to protest but she cut them off. "No, we have all had a very long day, filled with new revelations and new enemies, and we will not be able to defeat them without a proper night's sleep." Both Originals nodded and accepted their defeats honorably.

Talia and Elijah were on their way up to their room when Haley suddenly arrived with a gaggle of werewolves in her wake. "Are we running a kennel now?" Klaus demanded. "Our family is under siege it is not the time for guests."

"If they're not here, they're with the witches. You asked me to step up, this is me stepping up," Haley replied stubbornly.

"Well it seems I'm a good influence on you after all," Klaus said smirking.

"Where's Oliver and Jackson?" Talia asked from the second level.

Haley looked up, "Oliver is playing spy, he'll pledge his loyalty to Cassie and then report back to me."

Talia smiled at her friend, but noticed she hadn't commented on Jackson, "All right then, good night." The dark haired woman guided Elijah back to their room. "I think I need a shower, care to join me?"

Elijah shook his head, "No, I believe I have one more piece of business left to take care of."

"Care to share?" Talia asked crossing her arms, giving him a look.

The Original sighed, "I did promise to be more trusting of you so…Marcel has made some rather good points about me helping his cause to create a new vampire community. And seeing how easily the wolves attacked you tonight and now Haley and Klaus are attempting to assemble their own people to keep them out of my mother's control…"

Talia gently cupped his face in her hands, "If you believe this is the best option, I will support you. And on some level, I think you're right. The wolves and witches are growing in strength and number every day, we could use some allies. So, go deal with whatever it is you need to with Marcel, I'll be here when you get back."

Elijah kissed her fervently, "Have I ever told you how much I love you?"

Talia grinned and kissed him again, "Hmm, once or twice. But I love to hear it."

"I love you," Elijah whispered against her lips before drawing back and looking deeply into her eyes. "Ardently, with every single part of me."

"I love you too."

_*15 years later*_

_I was almost too shocked for words, "Wow, both Mikaelson parents..."_

_"Yeah, it was definately enough to make your head spin," Talia agreed. "Not to mention turn our hold world upside down."_

_"So what happened next?"_


	4. Chapter 4

_Keep holding on, cause you know we'll make it through_

_We'll make it through_

The following morning Talia awoke to Elijah's arms wrapped around her as per usual. As she stirred she felt him gently plant kisses on her neck. "Good morning," he whispered as he dragged his lips up to just below her ear.

Talia sighed contently, "Good morning." She turned over and placed her lips on his. A thought ran through her mind that she would never tire of waking up like this. Gently she pulled back and rested her forehead against Elijah's. "We should probably get up."

Elijah surprised her by gently rolling her body underneath his and pulling her into another kiss, this one deeper than the first. "Unfortunately, you are correct," he said, drawing back from her lips.

The younger vampire wrapped her arms around his neck and smirked, "One more for the road." The Original grinned in response and obliged her request.

A few minutes later the two began to make their way downstairs but were surprised to see Haley and Klaus near quite the buffet of food simply sitting in the middle of the courtyard. "Well, then I guess we have Elijah to thank," Haley said to Klaus.

"This was not my doing," Elijah announced as he and Talia reached them.

Three pairs of eyes shifted to Talia, who shook her head. "It was not mine either."

"Then where did this all come from?" Haley wondered. Suddenly, one of the covered plates moved causing all four of them to jump. Klaus then removed the covering, releasing two birds, starlings, and revealing an elegantly written note. "What the hell was that?"

Klaus reached out and picked up the note sitting on the silver plate. After reading it, he looked up at them. "An invitation from our mother for dinner tonight, here." The moment the words left his lips, the Hybrid zipped away. The three remaining shared a look before following him upstairs.

Klaus was out on his balcony with the card held tightly in his fist. Haley sat on his bed as Elijah and Talia remained in the doorway. "It is times like this I'm really glad I never knew my mother," Haley announced as Klaus came back in.

The blonde Original leaned against one of the chairs, "We have enough enemies here and now the war for our home is to be fought against my own family!"

"Your wretched mother and her disciples tried to put a carving knife through our baby's heart. I will happily add to the body count," Haley pointed out causing Klaus to smirk.

"You'll do no such thing," Elijah declared. "Ester is a master in the art of possession. We know whose body she currently inhabits. We must decipher her intentions before she finds a new host."

"Well her last invitation was an assassination attempt on all her children," Klaus reminded them. "I think we can assume her intentions are decidedly fowl."

"Well then we have this afternoon to prepare for the worst," Talia suggested. Elijah caught her gaze and nodded before sweeping out of the room.

Klaus smirked as he too passed Talia, "Bloom is off the rose I see."

Talia rolled her eyes at her future brother, "In your dreams. Shall I see to the caterer?"

"If you so wish," Klaus replied.

Haley and Talia shared a look before Talia too turned to leave. "Hey," Haley called causing Talia to turn back. The new hybrid got to her feet and approached her friend. "Look, I wanted to thank you for all that you did for me the last few months."

The raven haired vampire smiled a bit, "That's what family does, we look after each other."

Haley opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted when her cell phone rang. "Hello?" Haley and Talia's eyes grew wide when Oliver on the other end of the line told them some new information. "Okay, thanks Ollie." Haley hung up on her informant.

"Ester has another witch on her side," Talia breathed. "Okay, you go downstairs and tell Klaus, I'll go into town and start prepping the food for tonight. Will you be there?"

"I'm not the one marrying into this family, no thanks," Haley replied earning a small grin from the vampire.

"All right, I'll see you later," Talia said as she left the room and the compound.

Whilst Talia was out and about she happened by a pet store and saw a young woman seemingly attempting to compel the owner for something. Chuckling she entered the shop. "Please just give me the damn python!" the dark haired, sun tanned woman groaned in frustration.

"You're gonna have to pay for it," the owner told her.

Talia attempted to smother her giggles, "Oh darling, you're not gonna get that snake that way."

The woman turned around, her brown eyes widening, "Oh, great now I gotta compel two people."

The blue eyes vampire snorted, "Hunny, you couldn't compel me even if you tried. Now, would you like me to teach you how to properly compel someone?"

"You're a vampire too?" the woman asked. Talia nodded as she approached the counter where the woman and the store owner stood.

"Now, step one, look deep into his eyes," Talia said. The woman did so and the store owner froze. "Good, now here's the tricky part, you have to tell him exactly what you want and truly believe it will happen. In essence, believe in what you're saying."

The woman nodded, "Okay, you're going to give me that python free of charge." The store owner nodded and moved over to the snake's cage. "Oh my God, it worked!"

Talia smiled, "See, a little bit of confidence will go a long way in this world. You're obviously new, are you one of Marcel's recruits?"

"I'm Gia," the woman, Gia, said shaking Talia's hand.

"Talia Mikaelson," the older vampire smiled.

Gia's eyes widened, "You're one of them?" Talia's eyes narrowed in confusion. "Your brother, Mr. Suit, is the one who is supposed to be teaching me all this stuff."

"Brother?" Talia chuckled. "Try fiancée."

"Oh," Gia gasped. "I'm sorry, I-"

"No, it's all right. I know he can be a bit of a stick in the mud," Talia assured her. "So what's with the python?"

Gia shrugged, "Some soul branding ritual Elijah's trying to get a witch to do." Talia's eyes widened in surprise at this new information.

"Hey, are you two freaks gonna take this snake or not?" the owner demanded.

"Uh oh," Gia muttered.

"I got it," Talia assured her as she turned to compel the store owner. "You will forget the last half hour has happened. Your snake got out of its cage and that's it. Now go into the back room and get some food for these animals, when you return you will have forgotten everything I have told you." The store owner nodded blankly and disappeared into the back room. "Now, Gia, why don't we get this snake to that witch and then head back to Marcel's?"

"Um, are you carrying that snake?" Gia asked eyeing the reptile on the counter.

Talia took one look at the slippery creature, "Not on your life."

Gia showed Talia back to the witch's shop where they gave her the snake. "When will this ritual be done?"

"Tonight, Mrs. Mikaelson, when the moon is high in the sky, and once I am in possession of an item spelled by the witch we are branding," the witch, Lenore, told her.

Talia didn't even flinch at the use of her future last name, she certainly was beginning to get a reputation, "Thank you for all that you're doing."

"Just tell that man of yours to keep his promise," Lenore replied.

"I will," Talia swore as she and Gia left the shop.

"So, how long have you been a vampire?" Gia asked as they made their way back to Marcel's place."

Talia shrugged, "Not terribly long, nearly a year, I think. It's all kind of blur, a lot has happened. And I'm assuming you've been one, what a day?"

"Give or take," Gia said as they reached Marcel's.

"I seem to have found a friend of yours," Talia announced as she and Gia entered.

Marcel looked up surprised, "Gia? I thought you were with Elijah."

"I was but then he sent me to get this dumb snake but I couldn't compel the owner but then Talia showed up and helped me out and taught me how to compel," Gia explained.

Marcel glanced over to Talia, "Thank you for looking out for her. Seems your fiancée couldn't be bothered."

Talia shrugged, "It wasn't a problem, and I believe Elijah has more important matters to deal with, no offense, Gia."

"None taken, you're better company then he is anyway," Gia replied earning a small smile from Talia.

"I should probably go, I've got a dinner to get to. I'll see you two later," Talia said as she left Marcel's and returned home.

Night had just fallen when she found Elijah, Klaus, and Haley. "Marcel's witch is being held captive in the Quarter," Haley announced.

"Oh perfect, mother's a step ahead of us as usual," Klaus groaned.

"How's that possible, I just saw her not an hour ago," Talia informed them.

Elijah looked over at her curiously, "And what were you doing there?"

"Returning a python, I'll explain later," she answered. "So what do we do now?"

"Oliver's with her, I'll go and get her to do the spell but I'll need the necklace," Haley suggested. Klaus handed over a leather necklace with a bird pendent, obviously the item spelled by Ester they would need for the ritual.

"No, I do not like this-" Elijah began to protest.

"No!" Haley cut him off. "You don't get to ignore me for days and then act like you're suddenly concerned, Elijah. Just for once will you trust me do something and it will get done? Thank you." With that Haley brushed passed them.

"So, I think it would be prudent to go get dressed for dinner, however disastrous it may be," Talia spoke up as she left the brothers and headed upstairs to change.

She had just slipped into a nice short dark green dress when Elijah wrapped his arms around her from behind. Sighing, Talia leaned back against his chest. "I do not relish the idea of you being in immediate danger this evening," Elijah said as Talia gently traced patterns on his arms.

"Nor do I actually want to be anywhere near your mother this evening or anytime in the near future, but whatever this is, whatever she wants, we must discover what it is," Talia replied honestly. Elijah gently kissed her temple before releasing her and turning to change his own attire. "I'll meet you downstairs," Talia told him as she quickly kissed his cheek.

Downstairs once more, she found Klaus already dressed in a nice suit, leaning on one of the chairs of the dining table. "Talia, you look ravishing."

"Thank you, Klaus. I trust the caterer delivered our dinner?" she inquired as she took her seat next to him but across from Elijah.

"All prepped and ready to serve our monster of a mother," Klaus replied. Talia nodded as Elijah appeared. Klaus looked up at his brother. "Are these outfits really necessary?"

"Appearance is a way of showing respect, Niklaus," Elijah responded. "Mother will be more likely to surrender her true intentions."

"I doubt her guard will drop just because I'm dressed like a bloody lawyer," Klaus growled, obviously annoyed.

"We need every advantage we can get, Klaus," Talia reminded him.

Klaus rolled his eyes, "You always did excel at diplomacy, brother. Just know that if she tries anything, I'll tear her new body to pieces."

The sound of someone chuckling alerted them to the presence of another. It was Vincent, the dark skinned man who had been at Roussos's the night Davina was attacked. "You two haven't changed a bit," he observed before glancing over at the only female in the room. "Though I can't say the same for the young Talia nor can I say immortality has done you any good." He then turned his attention back to the brothers. "Silks and linens can't hide your pathetic self-loathing. And you," Vincent pointed to Klaus, "despite the arrogant façade you're still the paranoid little boy. Full of hate, full of fear."

Elijah slowly approached the new arrival, "Forgive me, I don't believe I've had the pleasure."

"You mean you don't recognize me," Vincent said feigning hurt. "So much for the unbreakable bond of family, huh? Always and forever, indeed."

Klaus glared at Vincent with new vigor, "It's been a long time, Finn."

_*15 years ;ater*_

_"Wait, wait, Finn was alive too?" I demanded, surprised._

_Talia nodded, "Yep, it seemed all of the Mikaelsons were just pouring into the city."_

_"And Gia, she sounds nice, why would Elijah stand her up?" I wondered._

_"Well, you have to look at it from his perspective, he just found out his father is alive and under the control of a vengeful teenage witch, and then his mother returns as well and she has an army of werewolves following her because she's made them special moonlight rings that make them stronger. Klaus, Haley, Rebekah, Hope, and I were all in danger, he didn't feel he had time to help Gia," Talia explained._

_I nodded, understanding a bit better, "So this dinner thing with Ester and Finn, what happened?"_


	5. Chapter 5

Just stay strong

Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you

Vincent, or Finn apparently, simply smirked at his brothers and Talia's surprise. "Now that the introductions are out of the way, let's eat."

The newly alive Finn took a seat next to Elijah as said Mikaelson took the seat on Klaus' left. Servers soon appeared bringing in the first course. Slowly they all sipped their wine, wary of each other. "What an aromatic boudoir," Finn observed, complimenting the wine.

"Well it was a challenge to find a good pairing," Klaus commented. "What wine goes well with treachery?" Talia giggled behind her glass.

"Don't pout, brother, tonight is meant to be a happy occasion," Finn replied.

"What exactly are we celebrating?" Talia requested.

Finn gave them an incredulous look, "Why my return, of course. You see, I spent nine hundred years lying daggered in a box. I'm rather enjoying this new body, strolling about this lovely city that you've made your home. But do tell me, what did I miss? Regale me with your contributions to society, medicine, philosophy, art? Or have you two merely cut a path of destruction across time? Not that I fault Talia for she has not been immortal long and has been blinded by her affection for the two of you."

"The last time we met, you were helping our mother annihilate the lot of us," Klaus reminded them all. "Let's not throw stones in glass houses."

"Are we expecting another guest?" Talia inquired noticing the servers placing extra settings, one even in the spot next to her.

"Mother will sit at the head," Finn explained. "And as for the seat across from me, that is reserved for another member of our clan. Care to wager and educated guess? How about a paranoid one?"

"Well there is no way Kol would listen to anything other than his ego," Klaus reasoned.

Finn shook his head, "And yet our mother has made such a compelling argument, that even he, the wildest of us Mikaelsons, has seen the error of his ways and accepted his new form with vigor. Change, dear brothers, is inevitable." Talia's mind was spinning as she quietly ate her steamed vegetables. If Vincent was truly Finn then could the other boy, the one she had let go on a date with Davina, be Kol?

Klaus simply glared, "You would dare face us as a mortal? The only thing inevitable is your death." Klaus suddenly threw a knife but by some magic it changed course with a flick of Finn's wrist and impaled itself in the chair across from Klaus.

Finn retrieved the knife, "I suppose the honor of carving should go to the eldest. We have much to discuss." The eldest Original was silent for a moment as he sipped his wine. "Well, I'm rather enjoying my evening."

"I'd rather enjoy you getting to the point," Klaus growled, getting irritated.

"I had nine hundred years to learn patience," Finn pointed out. "Although I am curious why you kept me daggered in a box for so long."

"You were daggered for being an ever simpering sycophant," Klaus replied leaning forward. "Did Mother bring you back from the dead so you could wash her knickers?"

Finn was getting angry, "She raised me because I was treated unfairly, cheated out of all but the smallest portion of my life! Elijah, I can understand such cruelty coming from him but I always thought of as being the compassionate one. What did I do to deserve you turning your back on me? Were you afraid of Niklaus? Are you still? Or perhaps jealousy is the reason why you kept me locked in a box. You coveted the duties of the eldest brother in which case you've had near a millennium to fix the problems of this family but instead produced nine centuries of failure!"

Finn paused and folded his hands as Elijah spoke up, "You might reside, quite parasitically, I might add, in another body but let me assure you in nine hundred years your tedious sentiments remain quite the same. You see Finn, like Father, you have always despised our supernatural existence. Father, of course, slaughtered, consumed his own, whereas you became pretentious and dull, much like this meal. I will not ask you again, where is Mother?"

"Oh my dear son," a new feminine voice said as a young, short dark haired, teenage girl appeared. "I've missed you too. And Talia, it is wonderful to see you again, even if it is not as I had hoped." The young vampire shifted uncomfortably as Ester took her seat.

"Why don't you say what you came here to say so this wretched night can end?" Klaus demanded drawing Ester's attention.

"It pains me that you and Elijah, and even Talia, look at me with such disdain," Ester announced. "I wish you could see that my every action has been to protect you."

"You actually believe that don't you?" Klaus questioned, smirking with false humor. "I knew you were a liar but now I see you're utterly delusional."

"If you can forget the anger you cling to," Ester pressed, "and remember all of the times I've mended and healed you." Klaus chuckled as their mother turned to her second eldest son. "Elijah, do your remember the day Niklaus challenged your father to a duel? Did I leave your brother to die alone? What did I say when you came to me and asked me to help him?"

Elijah met his mother's piercing gaze, "You said you would rather die than let one of your children suffer."

"The necklace," Klaus muttered as if in revelation. "It wasn't spelled to protect me, it made me weak."

"I sought to protect you, from yourself," Ester defended her actions. "If you would've killed your father in that duel or anyone else over the course of your life, you would've activated your curse."

Klaus slammed his fist on the table, "You ruined me. You left me to suffer at the hands of a father who only valued strength."

"I kept you from becoming a beast for as long as I could," Ester insisted.

"Lot of good that did," Talia mumbled. Elijah's eyes flickered over to her for a moment in warning and she pursed her lips in response.

"You lied to me!" Klaus shouted, pain and anger seeping into his pale blue eyes as he got to his feet. "To hide your own transgressions, your own fear! My whole life I sought the approval of the man I thought was my father, you turned me into the weakling he hated!" Elijah stood up and turned away from the table, rubbing his jaw. "Look at me!" Klaus demanded when Ester lowered her eyes. "You rant and you rage about the monster I have become but you, mother, are the author of everything I am."

Ester and Finn shared a look before Ester slumped forward, Ester ran forward to catch her before she fell out of the chair as Talia got to her feet.

Suddenly, Talia's phone rang shrilly. "Excuse me," she said as she left the room. "Haley, how did it go?"

"We got her, knocked Oliver out so it won't be suspicious," Haley answered as a loud crash came from the dining room.

Talia breathed a sigh of relief, "Good, just get out of there and get the spell done, we don't have much time."

"Got it," and the line went dead. She returned to the dining room to find Klaus and Elijah hovering over Ester, who was now awake once more but Finn was gone.

"Where is our mother?" Klaus demanded of the girl.

The now vacant vessel looked up at them confused, "Where am I? What's happening?"

Klaus grabbed her throat. "Leave her, she's a puppet," Elijah ordered, trying to be reasonable.

"Klaus look at her, she has absolutely no idea," Talia insisted.

"What are you talking about? Who are you?" the frightened girl demanded.

"Shut up!" Klaus snapped. "Start talking right now!" The girl remained silent. "Our mother orchestrates this entire evening just to torture us and then vanishes. Why?"

"What if we were not the only minds she hoped to poison tonight?" Elijah theorized. No sooner had the words left his mouth, Talia's phone rang again.

"Haley?" she answered.

"Talia, I'm at Lenore's shop-" the line went dead.

Talia's eyes widened in fright, "Haley's in trouble."

"But why Haley?" Elijah wondered.

"To kill her, to punish us, to learn the truth about the child, any number of reasons, all of which will be rendered moot when I send her screaming back to hell! Let's go," Klaus commanded and they all zipped off, hoping they weren't too late. "I assume I have the misfortune of speaking to my mother," Klaus announced as they entered Lenore's shop. Ester threw some sort of ashes keeping Klaus back. "And you hide behind your spells like a coward."

"I did not come here to wage war," Ester protested as she threw her magic at Elijah when he tried to enter from the other side of the shop.

"Everything you do is an act of war," Talia said as she appeared next to Elijah. "If you touch her, so help me-"

"Haley is free to go," Ester interrupted Talia. "I've spoken my peace she knows why I'm here. I have come to heal our family."

Klaus rolled his eyes, "Well that's a grand sentiment coming from you."

Elijah turned to Haley, "Go now." The young hybrid left the shop quickly and the Original turned to his fiancée.

"Don't even think about it," she told him before Elijah could utter a single word.

A bulb exploded above Ester, effectively regaining their attention, "My intent was never to harm, only to heal, as I have already healed your brothers Finn and Kol. For you I will undo everything that has been done, thereby giving you a new life." Another light bulb exploded, sparks flying everywhere. "One without the vampire curse I inflicted upon you." Ester waved her hand over the cauldron in front of her and the whole shop began to shake. "Ask Haley to share with you my loving proposition."

"You're a fool if you think we'll accept anything you offer," Klaus growled.

Ester was not even fazed, "You are wrong, Niklaus, there will come a time, my darling." She lifted up her arms and the glass windows shattered and a storm of birds flew in. Elijah covered Talia protectively. "And you will beg it!" There was a loud crash and Ester was gone.

Back at the compound everyone was on edge. "Of course she used those damn birds to make her escape," Klaus growled murderously as he paced the courtyard.

"Aside from her promise of rebirth, what did she say?" Elijah questioned Haley.

Haley shrugged, "I don't know, she rambled a lot. She blamed the two of you for Hope, for Talia and I turning into vampires."

"Well I trust you're not thinking taking her offer?" Klaus probed finally pausing in his pacing. But Haley didn't answer his question. "Haley, I'm talking to you!"

The young hybrid stood up angrily, "What do you want me to say, Klaus? I lost my daughter, so yeah when your mother offered to wipe the slate clean excuse me if I'm tempted. By the way thanks for your help tonight, Elijah, I'm glad that it takes me being in danger for you to even talk to me." With one last glare at the three of them and an exasperated sigh, Haley stormed off upstairs.

"I'll talk to her," Talia offered turning to follow.

"Leave her," Klaus demanded. "I need you both with me. Our mother, the woman who brought us into the world, who made us who we are, and the whole time she lied to me. She made me weak."

"You were never weak, Niklaus," Elijah denied. "You are and have always been the most fierce of us all. In a thousand years I have never seen anyone stand against you not even our wicked father, not one. Of the countless devoted to your destruction, you have protected our home. Even in the face of an adversary such as our mother, because that-that is what you do."

"Klaus, you've fought harder than anyone to not only survive but to build something for yourself and this family and defend it," Talia added. "And Elijah and I have the utter most faith in you."

Klaus was silent for a moment before clapping Elijah on the shoulder and cupping Talia's cheek, "You two remain the wisest consul. The rest of the family could learn something from the two of you." Klaus then left the couple and headed upstairs as well.

Talia turned to her fiancée, "I know that look, you have 'business to attend to'. Gia?"

Elijah nodded, "I may have mistreated her earlier today and she needs a guide the most right now."

"She does," Talia agreed kissing his cheek. "Just don't be out too late." Elijah kissed her soundly before zipping out of the compound.

Talia sighed as she returned upstairs, realizing she had some homework due the following morning, thankfully for an online class. She set down to work on it but stopped, thinking she had something else she needed to take care of first.

"Hello?" Davina answered after the first couple of rings.

"Di," Talia replied, "please don't hang up. You don't need to tell me where you are, I just-things are getting crazy in the Quarter and I need you to be careful. I know you think what you're doing is the best option but Mikael is dangerous, I just hope you know that no matter what I want you to be safe, okay? Marcel, Cami, Josh, and I just want to be safe. Just watch your back okay? I guess I'll see you around." The vampire sighed and moved to end the call.

"Talia," Davina said deterring Talia from hanging up. "Thanks."

Talia smiled a bit, "Anytime," and hung up. With a sigh she returned to her work, trying to take her mind off of all the growing problems in the Quarter.

_*15 years later*_

_"Wait, so Ester wanted to make all of you mortal? Why?" I questioned._

_Talia shrugged, "Well above everything, Ester was a mother, a terrible one but a mother nonetheless. She simply wanted the family whole again and was willing to go to extreme measures to do so."_

_"Wow, so what happened next?"_


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N I know, I know I'm a terrible person because I haven't updated in weeks. But with finals, Christmas, and New Years, my sincerest apologies. But I hope you enjoy and hopefully we'll be back to a normal update schedule.**_

_There's nothing you can say_

_Nothing you can do_

_There's no other way when it comes to the truth_

A few days later Talia was upstairs in her room taking notes for one of her online classes when she heard the unmistakable voice of her fiancée yell, "Brother, Niklaus!" With a roll of her eyes she shut her laptop and journeyed downstairs.

"…let me check his calendar, wait no, not his wife," Haley told Elijah sarcastically as Talia walked down the stairs.

"Haley, this city is under siege by an army of beasts following my deranged mother's every command, now considering it was your people who just declared war on my kind perhaps now isn't particularly the right time for your particular brand of sass."

"Okay, ladies back in your corners," Talia ordered as she reached them. "Now what's this all about?"

"Klaus left a little while ago, I can't help you. If only there was some magical device we use to call people, I don't know, I'm out of ideas," Haley continued with her snarky comments. "Good luck." The hybrid turned away but turned right back. "And one more thing, Elijah, those beasts may be under Ester's control but like you said they are my people so if you hurt them, your bitch mother will be the least of your problems."

Talia turned to her fiancée as Haley truly walked away this time, "You two really need to work out your issues. Now what's wrong?"

"Mother's wolves attacked Marcel's place last night, they threatened them to leave town completely or face annihilation, and with their rings it should not be a difficult feat," Elijah explained.

"Well, that's quite the situation," Talia observed crossing her arms, "You'd better get ahold of Klaus."

Elijah quickly called his brother but a few rings sighed and hung up, "Nothing."

"That isn't a good sign. Maybe we should pay Marcel and his friends a visit," Talia suggested.

The tips of Elijah's lips quirked upwards, "Follow me."

Marcel was mid-pep-talk when the two vampires arrived, "…a big difference between wanting to fight and knowing how to win."

"So show us," Gia suggested. "You've kicked their asses before I'm guessing you didn't do it alone."

Josh raised his hand from his seat on a bar stool, "Yeah, not that I don't dig this whole Karate Kid vibe we got going on here, but how are we supposed to learn to defend ourselves from super charged werewolves in like a day?" Elijah turned to Talia with a smirk and zipped in snapping two vampires' necks.

"Lesson one, always be on your guard," Elijah announced to all of Marcel's vampires present.

Talia zipped in and flung three vampires into the wall, "Lesson number two, be prepared for anything." Elijah beamed with pride in his eyes as Marcel stepped forward.

"You two here to help?" he questioned. "Then let's get to it. Talia, you and me will take the others outside and handle them in groups get them to work together. Elijah, Gia is the oldest of this group so I think she's ready for hand-to-hand one-on-one fighting." The couple nodded and the vampires followed Marcel outside.

Elijah grabbed Talia's hand before she could leave as well, "Be careful."

"I'll be fine, and I won't be jealous you're spending alone time with Gia. But I have a request," Talia replied. "I know you're a devout feminist, which I appreciate, but take it a little easy on her, she's new at all this."

Elijah smiled, "Of course."

Talia kissed his cheek and walked away but, before she left the room, she whispered in Gia's ear, "Kick his ass." The blue eyed vampire left the building hoping just maybe Gia would surprise her fiancée.

Outside Marcel had split the group of vampires into two groups. "All right, all of you on my side we'll be working on defense and all of you on Talia's side will be working on offense. Talia, they're all yours."

Talia grinned as she slowly paced in front of her group of baby vampires, "All right, we're gonna make this simple. You will all scatter around these buildings and as I walk through I want you to attack me. Go for the neck, whether you bite or snap, but if you see an opening to take a wolf's heart," she stopped in front of a blonde haired male and got very close to his face, "you will not hesitate or else you will die." She stepped away and readdressed the group. "Now for the sake of all your lives and my very protective fiancée if you manage to snap my neck, bite me, or tear out my heart, I can assure you that not only will you die but in the most brutal, painful way the Mikaelson brothers can possibly think of. And trust me, they've been around a long time and have seen a thousand years of torture techniques but," she paused and stepped close to an olive toned, black haired female, "that doesn't mean I will allow you to go easy on me. Being a vampire is about being fearless but calculating each step you take and what your enemy will do in response. So, shall we?"

Talia was less than impressed with most of the vampires but a few managed to almost get her neck. Though she had to admit her powers were an advantage. Near the end one vampire, the blonde male from before, managed to get his arms around her. However, Talia summoned a nearby pole and smashed it into his head.

She then turned to face her group, "Your enemy will not fight fair and will not give in so easily. Witches, in particular, play dirty and use their magic to their advantage. This young man's mistake was not attempting to choke me because if I were a witch and hadn't been able uttered a spell, he would not have such a fantastic headache right now."

"Talia," she heard someone call and turned around to see Marcel, Haley, and some other guy she didn't know approaching. Several of the vampires behind her growled at the approaching party, most likely at the man.

"It's all right, guys," Talia reassured her group.

"But he's their leader, he threatened us last night," the olive skinned girl insisted.

Talia gave her a look, "He gave you all a day, right? So he must have a reason for being here early. While I'm dealing with this, split up into teams of four, three to hide, one to defend, go!"

"Quite the natural leader," Marcel observed when the three of them reached her. "Look, I'm gonna grab Josh and we'll meet you guys up there."

"Okay," and Marcel was gone. Talia turned to Haley, "What's going on? Who's this guy?" she demanded.

"He's Aiden, but he's here to help," Haley explained. "Where's Elijah?"

"He's inside," Talia answered and followed the three of them back inside. Inside, however, they found Gia with Elijah up against a wall with her hand in his chest. "Elijah. Gia."

Both froze and turned to the four of them. Haley stepped forward, "We need to talk." Gia noticed Aiden and moved to attack him but Elijah stopped her. "We're not here for a fight. Just hear him out."

Elijah glanced over to Talia and responded with a small reassuring dip of her head. Elijah nodded stiffly, "Speak. I suggest you be succinct." Marcel and Josh, and surprisingly Oliver, joined them as Aiden began his tale.

"Please, I need your help. Vincent is going to force the children of my pack to turn in order to have enough wolves to drive the vampires out of New Orleans. They're-they're just kids, they shouldn't be forced to do this. The witch wants soldiers so now it's join up or pay the price."

"I've known my brother Finn to e merciless but, I'll admit, this exceeds my expectations," Elijah stated rubbing his face tiredly as Talia gently rubbed his shoulder from her seat on the bar stool just behind him.

"They're just kids," Haley implored before turning to Marcel. "Marcel, you know the Quarter like the back of your hand, if anyone can get them out of here, it's you."

"And take them where?" Marcel pointed out.

Oliver spoke up from his chair, "There's still wolves out in the bayou, they can look after them."

"The ones that never sold out?" Marcel corrected the blonde wolf.

Oliver sighed, "You could say it like that, it's fine, we did what we had to do."

Marcel shook his head, "You wolves have been fighting us for decades, why trust us now?"

"Because you have a common enemy," Talia offered.

Aiden crossed his arms over his chest, "One of the recruits is my little brother. There's no way I'm sending him to war."

Elijah and Marcel shared a look before the Original turned to Aiden, "Tell us what you need?"

"All right, the kids are being held in the City of the Dead, until we bring them through the Quarter to St. Anne's church," Aiden explained. "Meanwhile, Vincent is holding a meeting with a few of the humans in the know who have been reluctant to follow the new leadership."

"He's going to use the children to kill any opposition," Talia pieced together.

Aiden nodded, "Break their curse, send a message to anyone who's thinking about going against him, two birds, one blood bath."

"Okay, so we hit them while the kids are on the move," Marcel recommended.

"Aiden, make certain you and Oliver escort the children," Elijah ordered, "we'll handle the rest."

"Wait, wait," Oliver stuttered, "Ester's psycho son already gave me the stink eye, these kids go missing on my watch, I'm as good as dead."

Talia gave the wolf a look, "You wanted to help your people and make amends for your past, this is your chance." Oliver simply sighed.

"You two should probably leave before you arouse suspicion," Elijah suggested and Aiden and Oliver took their leave. The Original then turned back to the remaining five, "All right, here is the plan." The five listened intently as Elijah laid out the plan and prepared themselves as night fell.

It was a regular party in the Quarter as the wolves weaved through toward St. Anne's. Talia watched silently as she followed them. Just as planned Gia appeared, pretending to be drunk, and ran into one of the other wolves escorting the kids. The wolf grew angry but Gia pushed him back and Marcel appeared snapping his neck. Talia quickly zipped over and pulled the heart out of the werewolf near the one Marcel had killed. The three vampires shared a look before running back into the crowd.

"You! We'll take the kids, split up and find them," they heard Aiden order. Talia nodded to Marcel and Gia as she zipped away. They were to take care of the last two wolves whilst she would be waiting for Oliver and Haley to bring the kids.

"Hey Josh," she greeted as she entered Roussos's.

"Hey," he replied. "So far so good?" Talia nodded.

Just then the door of the bar opened and Oliver appeared with the kids. Josh quickly opened a secret tunnel behind one of the bookcases. "Go ahead," Josh told the kids. "It's an old passageway from the Prohibition days it'll take us just about anywhere we want to go." After all the kids were in Josh followed then Haley. Talia and Oliver shared a look.

"Come one, let's go," Talia said and the two started off to meet Elijah. "You know this would go a lot faster if you let me carry you." Oliver just rolled his eyes at her as they continued on. When they arrived at the garage, Elijah was waiting for them.

"Where are they?" Elijah questioned when they joined him.

"Should be right behind us," Oliver told him. "They made it out." Talia and Elijah shared a look as she gently grasped his hand. The three waited in silence, tense and alert. The sound of a door opening alerted them to someone's approach. "Here we go, about time."

However, a dozen or so wolves surrounded them. "Don't bother trying to run, we've got you surrounded." One of the wolves told them.

Oliver chuckled sardonically, "What, you don't think that we would be dumb enough to bring them here, do you?"

"Yes, I do apologize for the inconvenience but the little ones you seek are elsewhere," Talia added with a tiny smirk. "Which I suppose leaves you here with us."

"You're the one who doesn't seem to understand, we're not looking for the kids," the same wolf from earlier spoke up, staring at Elijah, "the witch wants you."

Elijah began to take off his jacket, "Now listen to me very carefully, I promised a good friend of mine that I would do my very best to spare the lives of her people. You leave right now, and I will honor that. Stay, and the situation becomes irrefutably awkward." The wolf stepped back into a fighting stance. Elijah simply sighed and turned to Talia and Oliver, "You two should probably leave now."

Oliver shrugged, "Either I'm out or I'm in right?"

Talia, on the other hand, gave her fiancée a withering look, "You really need to stop telling me when the situation is too dangerous for me." She turned her back to him and readied herself to fight.

The female wolf directly in front of her growled as she leapt at Talia. The vampire ducked and threw the wolf over her shoulder, slamming her into the ground and ripping out her heart. She turned in time to snap the neck of another wolf. As she straightened one of the wolves punched her in the face. Talia snarled and returned the punch before ripping put his heart. She then turned and flung two wolves into a car but before she could do anything more to them Elijah finished them off. She rolled her eyes but gave him a small smile, taking in the blood covering his white shirt. Looking around, she realized the fight was over.

"Well I guess that's all they got," Oliver huffed. He too was covered in blood. Talia glanced down at herself and realized her clothes were soaked with red blood.

"So it would seem," Elijah agreed. However, all of a sudden, he grasped his head and convulsed in pain.

"Elijah!" Talia gasped as she ran to his side.

Out of nowhere, Finn appeared, "Actually, I'm just getting started."

Talia growled, "Let him go," rising to her feet to attack him but was thrown back. She rolled over as a groan escaped her and saw Oliver flying through the air, smashing into one of the cars.

Elijah quickly got to his feet, grasped Finn's throat and slammed into another car as Talia forced herself upright. "Perhaps, you're next body will last longer than this one, brother." Elijah grasped Finn's head, ready to snap, when a long, large piece of wood pierced through his chest. Talia's breath caught in her throat as Ester appeared keeping the wood in with her magic.

Her fiancée cried out in pain as he sunk to his knees, then the floor. "No!" Talia screamed as she ran forward, using her power to fling Ester away from Elijah.

"Mother!" Fin yelled as he ran to her side. Talia crouched next to Elijah, holding him in her arms. Suddenly, his neck snapped and his eyes shut. Talia looked up at Finn and Ester.

"Why are you doing this?" Talia demanded, her voice breaking.

"I am sorry, Talia, but this is the only way I can get through to him," Ester reasoned.

Talia simply rolled her blue eyes, "So what's your plan? Lock him up until he agrees? Use me as a bargaining chip?"

"Oh no, dear, you would only prove to be a distraction," Ester told her. "I truly am sorry about this." With a loud sickening snap, Talia's world went black.

_*15 years later*_

_I gasped, "Oh my God, Ester took Elijah? But why not keep you for leverage?"_

_"She wanted Elijah completely isolated which meant he couldn't have anything on his mind like me being in danger," Talia explained._

_"Got it, so how did you get him back?"_

_"Well it wasn't easy..."_


	7. Chapter 7

_Keep holding on_

_Cause you know we'll make it through_

_We'll make it through_

"Talia! Talia, wake up!" a loud, familiar voice pierced the darkness as someone shook her roughly. Talia groaned as she opened her eyes to find Marcel and Haley crouched above her.

"Hey, are you okay?" Haley demanded.

Talia shifted to sit up, both Marcel and Haley helping a bit, "I think so. Ugh, my neck kills though. Where's Elijah?"

Marcel and Haley shared a look. Marcel sighed, "We don't know."

Reality came crashing down on Talia, "I think I do." The two of them looked confused. "The wolves showed up, attacked us, and as you can see, we managed to defeat them. But Finn and Ester showed up. She must have him."

"And Oliver," Haley added.

Marcel rubbed his chin, "But why not take Talia too? If I was going after Elijah, Talia would be my best leverage."

"I said the same thing but Ester said I would merely be a distraction," Talia replied as Haley and Marcel helped her to her feet.

"A distraction from what?" Haley questioned.

Talia shook her head, "I wish I knew. We have to find them."

"I'm gonna call Klaus," Haley said as she grabbed her cell phone out of her pocket.

"I'm a tad busy, what is it, Haley?" came the Hybrid's reply from the other end of the line.

Haley crossed her arms, "Something happened to Elijah, he was supposed to be our decoy last night, but he's vanished. There's blood everywhere and we found Talia knocked out, she says Ester and Finn attacked them last night. There's a trail, I need you to help us track it."

"Well as much as I'd like to help you find my brother but I've more pressing matters at the moment," Klaus replied, the sound of someone groaning in pain audible in the background.

"What's more important than your own brother?" Haley demanded.

Talia rolled her eyes as Klaus responded, "My life, Davina had Mikael on a magical leash and it broke. And now Mikael has Tunde's blade, the white oak stake, and Cami." Both Marcel and Talia perked up at this new information. "I'm gonna get her back, and then I'm going to end this. Either Mikael or I will be ash by day's end." With that Klaus hung up and the three supernatural creatures shared a look.

The blue eyed vampire sighed, "If Mikael has Cami and the white oak stake that means not only does he have Cami, he's probably done something horrible to Davina. And as much as I want my fiancée home by our wedding next week, they need us."

"Talia, we can't ask you to abandon the love of your life like this," Haley said, concern obvious in her voice.

Said vampire shook her head, "No, he would understand. Besides, if we're there to help Klaus we'll have an advantage and hopefully get this over with sooner than he possibly could on his own."

"Okay, so how do we find him?" Marcel questioned as they set off out of the parking garage.

"He's in the woods," Haley declared, earning a surprised look from both vampires. "Look, I spent months out in the bayou, I know what it sounds like and based on the animals I heard, I have a pretty good idea where."

The three of them zipped out somewhere in the wilderness with Haley leading the way. After a while of searching they came across a group of about a dozen humans dead, torn to pieces. Talia felt her thirst flare up at all the fresh blood but reigned herself in. She hadn't fed in a while and after coming back from the momentary dead she was pretty thirsty.

"This is where he called us from, I can smell his sent," Haley announced.

Talia sighed, "Okay, let's think about this logically. If Mikael got away from Davina, we have every reason to believe Davina would be after him as well."

Without another word, Marcel grabbed his phone out of his pocket and dialed the teenage witch, "Hey, it's me, I know what's going on with Mikael and Klaus, and Cami is mixed up in it too. Where are you?"

Davina was silent for a moment, "He's in a warehouse a few miles east of the Quarter. I'll text you the exact address."

"Thanks Di, be careful." He was only met with silence. A moment later his phone beeped and displayed the address. He looked up at Talia and Haley, "Let's go."

When they got to the warehouse, they heard Mikael and Cami's voices coming from upstairs and zipped up to the second floor. Cami had a hold of the white oak stake and Mikael made a grab for it but Marcel suddenly zipped in, pushed Mikael away from Cami, and punched him in the face repeatedly. Talia zipped over to Cami to make sure she was okay. Lying beside her was an unconscious Klaus but he seemed to be beginning to wake up. However, Mikael was stronger than Marcel and threw the younger vampire to the floor.

"Enough!" Mikael exclaimed holding a piece of wood over him. "This day had been a long parade of fools." He looked up to Talia and Cami. "I'll enjoy killing every last one of you."

Suddenly, a chain appeared around Mikael's neck forcing him to turn around to face Haley. "Yeah, I really wouldn't bet on it," she snarled as she whipped him with the chains. Mikael fell to the floor as Marcel, Klaus, Cami, and Talia got to their feet and Haley joined them.

Mikael straightened as Davina entered the room as well. "It's over, Mikael," Klaus told him. Talia was slightly taken aback that Klaus hadn't just attacked his non-biological father. "You're outnumbered. Are you going to beg for your miserable life?"

The blonde Original, however, simply chuckled, "You think having people makes you strong? It proves how weak you are. Come find me, when you don't have foolish women and children fighting your battles." He threw down the wood in his hand and zipped away.

Talia turned to Davina and before the teenager could say anything she was pulled into a hug. "I was so worried about you," Talia declared as she pulled back.

"I'm sorry," Davina apologized, "I just I need to find a way to fix all of this."

Talia nodded, "I know, I just hope you'll do the right thing in the end."

"I have to go, Kaleb's waiting outside," Davina announced. "I'll call you guys later." Talia looked at Davina curiously as she left the room.

Marcel glanced over at Talia, who merely sighed, "Go on, go after her. But take it easy on her, she's had a rough day." He nodded and left the warehouse.

Klaus then came over to Talia, "I heard about your ordeal last night, how are you doing?"

"Honestly? Physically I'm fine but I'm losing my mind worrying about Elijah. She drove a stake through his chest and snapped his neck in order to take him. God only knows what she's doing to him right now," Talia cried, unshed tears falling down her face.

The Hybrid surprised her by pulling her into an embrace and holding her tightly. She clutched at his shirt trying to calm herself. Klaus gently kissed her forehead before pulling back to look at her seriously. "I swear to you we will find him. And the two of you will be married as planned next week." Talia smiled weakly and nodded.

Klaus released her and walked over to Cami as Haley disappeared out of the room. Talia stood near the window looking out at the city in the distance, trying not to listen to Klaus and Cami's conversation. Elijah was out there somewhere, her gut told her in the cemetery but more than likely he would be cloaked and damn near impossible to get to. She hoped and prayed he was all right and he wasn't in too much pain.

"You know in a thousand years I think it's the first time I've seen him run," Talia heard Klaus tell Cami.

"He was still weak," Cami reasoned.

"And he knew he was outmatched," Haley announced as she and Marcel came back in.

"We checked the perimeter, he's definitely gone," Marcel stated as Talia walked away from the window.

Klaus gave Marcel a meaningful look, "I appreciate your assistance."

Marcel shrugged, "Hey, you die, I die, call me selfish."

"You die, a lot of people die," Talia pointed out.

"But we have another problem," Haley added.

Klaus nodded, "I know, we have to find Elijah. Let us return home and regroup." He slung his arm around Talia's shoulders. "And then we shall get him back."

Meanwhile, back in the Quarter Elijah hung, chained to walls by magic. His mother's mental tortures berating him over and over. His mother was yet again telling him how he would weaken, how his will and resolve would not last, when suddenly Talia appeared and flung Ester out of the way into one of the walls.

"Well that's enough of that, don't you think?" she said with a smile. "Could've ripped her heart out but she'd probably simply take another body." She approached her fiancée and pulled at the chains that bound him. "How do I break these?"

"The doll, break it," Elijah breathed weakly glancing up at that which kept him imprisoned. "She's using it to bind me." Talia ripped the doll down and tore it in half before seeing to the chains. Elijah groaned in pain as he was released.

Talia noticed how tired he was, he could barely hold himself up, "You need to feed." Elijah tried to protest. "No, you need to feed." She bit into her wrist and held it out to him.

"I can't," he insisted looking away from her. Talia cupped his cheek to bring his gaze back to hers. Elijah caught her hand and kissed her palm. "I crave you, Talia. My hunger could overwhelm me."

"I'm not afraid," Talia whispered as she pressed her lips to his. They kissed feverishly for a moment before Talia led him to her neck. "It's all right." Not able to deny it any longer, Elijah gently kissed along the juncture between her neck and shoulders before sinking his teeth into her.

Little did Elijah know, this Talia was a figment of his imagination. A trick his mother had conjured up to force his mind to see things that were not truly there. To believe in a moment of happiness. And a few miles away Talia laid in there bed, unable to sleep, restless and worried. She would not rest until Elijah was safely in her arms once more.

_*15 years later*_

_"Wow, so Mikael really backed down? What a coward," I told Talia earning a small smile._

_"Yeah but he wasn't our biggest issue at that moment," she said._

_I nodded, "Right, so how did you guys find Elijah?"_

_"Welll..."_


	8. Chapter 8

_So far away_

_I wish you were here_

_Before it's too late this could all disappear_

Talia awoke two days later to someone knocking obnoxiously on her door. She opened her eyes to find her bed empty. Elijah was still missing. She and Klaus had been searching for him but had come up empty handed. Speaking of which, Talia groaned as she got to her feet and opened it to find her future brother-in-law waiting there expectantly. "Good morning, sweetheart, Marcel has just delivered another witch, care to join me in interrogating her?" Klaus was awfully giddy at the idea of torture but if this helped them find Elijah, Talia would help. Klaus led her into the room adjoining one of the studies and there sat a blonde witch tied to a chair. The Hybrid turned to the young vampire with a smirk, "Let the fun begin." The hours passed full of Klaus demands, followed by the witch's screams, which caused Talia to then come in and try a gentle approach to getting information. Sadly, all of these attempts were in vain. And after a while Klaus grew impatient and dispatched of their less than compliant informant. "Well, that's enough of that." The blonde hybrid moved over a large bowl of water to wash off his hands.

Just then Haley appeared, "I see your interrogation went well."

Klaus simply shrugged, "Well it turns out these witches are delicate creatures. No matter, as Talia has informed us, my mother has Elijah captive, which means he's probably in their cemetery."

"Great let's go find them," Haley nodded.

Talia shook her head, "No, Ester is too powerful she won't easily be found."

Klaus grabbed a towel to dry his hands, "I need to draw her out." He turned to his future sister. "And you are staying here."

"Wait, where are you going?" Talia demanded as he closed the doors.

The blonde poked his head out, "I'm going to change my shirt and then I'm going to find my brother."

"I'll follow you anyways," Talia declared before Klaus could close the door completely.

His blue eyes stared at her, "Elijah would never forgive me if you got yourself killed. Despite Ester's powers, she cannot kill me. You, however, are not indestructible so please, Talia, stay here and I swear I will bring your fiancée home to you." With that he closed the doors, leaving Talia disgruntled but compliant.

Talia turned to Haley, "I love him like a brother but sometimes I just want to throttle him."

Haley offered her a small smile, "We could go check in with Marcel and Gia, see if they're having any luck." Talia nodded and the two zipped away to Marcel's place.

"...maybe Klaus is having better luck," Marcel told Gia as they arrived.

"No, he's not which sucks considering how low the bar is around here," Haley announced causing both vampires to turn to them.

"Actually, I have an idea," Talia spoke up. "Ester didn't just take Elijah, she took Oliver too, so if we can find him we might be able to find Elijah. Plus, Oliver doesn't deserve any of this, we got him into this mess."

"I've heard that he's about to be executed," Haley told them causing Talia to raise her eyebrows in surprise. "We need to hurry if we're going to save them both."

Marcel shrugged, "Okay, what do you want from us?"

"Just a little distraction," Haley explained. "Finn, he's the one controlling the werewolves. If you can keep him out of the way, we can go in and get Ollie."

Haley turned to leave but Talia and Marcel shared a look before Marcel zipped in front of the hybrid, "You two can't take on all those wolves by yourselves. You'll get killed, and then I'll get killed for letting it happen."

"The werewolves may be answering to the witches but they still have an alpha, I just have to find him," Haley replied.

Talia stared at her for a moment, "This is gonna be interesting. Well, we better get going, I haven't been out to the bayou in ages."

The two women trekked through the bayou near where Haley had found the Crescent wolves before they'd joined them at the compound and searched the surrounding area. After a while they happened upon a mobile trailer that smelled like it had inhabited recently. Talia's ears perked up as she and Haley turned around simultaneously Haley catching one arrow and Talia deflecting the other with a wave of her hand, it imbedded itself into a nearby tree.

"Is that the best you've got? You're gonna have to a lot better than that if you're gonna kill a hybrid," Haley growled.

"Or a protoporou myalo," Talia added glaring at the man approaching them carrying a wooden bow. He was tall with really short dark hair and dark eyes and slung the bow over his shoulder as he pulled a knife out of his belt. Who was this guy?

"Stop!" a familiar voice shouted causing the man with the knife to pause. Haley and Talia whirled around to see Jackson stepping out from the tree line.

Haley's brown eyes grew wide, "Jackson?"

"Haley," he replied. "Talia." The raven haired vampire smiled at him. "I see you two have met my friend, Ansel."

"You know them?" the man, Ansel asked Jackson, peering at the two women.

"Yeah, I do," Jackson assured him. "Haley was supposed to be my wife." A faint blush crept across Haley's cheeks. "Come, sit, let's talk." He led the two women over to a small campfire and poured them each a mug of coffee. "After Francesca Guerra took over the wolves, she offered me a moonlight ring as long as I call her Alpha. I declined. So a couple of her brothers dragged me out here and left me for dead. By the time I healed up word had spread about what had happened to you and to your baby." Haley looked down. "So I knew it was over and I just drifted. That's when I met Ansel. See he's been teaching me the old ways, traditions, what it really means to be a wolf."

"You mean by living out in the ass-end of nowhere?" Haley commented causing Talia to roll her eyes.

"Easy, your kind makes him ornery," Jackson warned them.

Haley raised her eyebrows, "My kind? Jack, whatever you and your friend think of me, my kind is the wolves. Even if they did pledge allegiance to a witch, all that means is they need an Alpha."

"And Ollie needs one too," Talia told the dark haired wolf.

"Yeah I heard about that," Jackson said quietly. "Thing is Ollie betrayed me. He plotted with the Guerras, he spilt his own people's blood-"

"He was trying to make up for that," Talia insisted.

"It doesn't matter!" Jackson insisted hotly. "Witches have him, he's dead. Not that I care." He grabbed a canister, probably with some sort of alcohol in it, and knocked back a few gulps.

Haley got to her feet, "You don't want to be the Alpha? Fine, I'll save Ollie myself."

"Not without me," Talia told her getting up as well.

Ansel suddenly grabbed his bow and quiver as he joined them standing. "You got a problem old man?" Haley demanded.

Ansel wasn't even fazed, "I have no love of vampires, but I will not allow a wolf to be killed by witches." With that he walked away and Haley turned back to Jackson.

"Well, at least someone is interested." Haley turned to follow after him as did Talia.

"Talia," Jackson called after her causing the young vampire to turn back. "Keep an eye on her."

She nodded, "I will. I hope you change your mind about helping us."

As night fell the plan was set in motion. Cami, oddly enough, was apparently Finn's patient as a psychiatrist for her school but he was apparently enamored with her so she was the distraction. Once Marcel informed them that Finn was occupied Haley, Talia, and Ansel stole into the cemetery to look for Oliver and possibly Elijah. After a while they found Oliver inside the Laisse, where the witches practiced their magic. The blonde werewolf was strung up by shackles and was covered in blood. "Ollie," Haley breathed as they reached him. "Wake up."

"The hell are you doing?" he reprimanded them weakly, barely able to keep his eyes open. His tired eyes noticed Ansel. "Who the hell is that?"

"We're here to save your ass," Talia assured him. "Please, tell me you know where Elijah is." Oliver shook his head no and Talia's heart dropped into her stomach.

"They know we're here," Ansel suddenly announced. Talia could hear about a dozen or so of them approaching.

Haley looked up at Oliver's binds, "Sorry, no time to be gentle." She reached up and pulled the chains out of the ceiling causing Oliver to fall to the ground. "Let's go." Haley and Talia helped Oliver to his feet.

"Just leave me here," Oliver groaned defeated.

"To hell with that, if they want a fight I'll give them a fight," Haley growled her stance changing to one of attack.

"No," Ansel declared stepping up to Haley with finality. "I came to help you save one of my own, I won't watch you kill scores of them. Go, take your friend out the back, move as fast as you can. I'll hold them off here."

Haley looked over to Talia and watched a thousand thoughts run across her face. Finally she met the hybrid's gaze. "I'm staying as well," the black haired vampire announced. Haley opened her mouth to protest but Talia cut her off. "Ansel can't fight them all on his own and Elijah might be here somewhere. I won't let the man I love spend one more second in whatever torture Ester has been putting him through. Go, get out of here, maybe try to get a hold of Klaus if you can."

Haley could see her mind was made up and quickly hugged her friend, "Be careful, there's no use saving Elijah if we lose you too." Talia nodded and watched as Haley helped the weak Oliver out the back before turning to Ansel who was watching her curiously.

"You're the one set to marry the Original, aren't you?" he questioned. Talia nodded. "And you are willing to sacrifice your life for him?" Again she nodded, wondering where this line of questioning was going. "You must truly love him. I once loved a woman like that but she betrayed me."

"I'm sorry," Talia told him as the sounds of the wolves drew closer. He looked eyes with her and there was something familiar in the way he looked at her, a sort of curiosity and admiration. "Have we met before? You seem familiar."

Ansel shook his head, "I would've remembered such an honorable woman."

She offered him a small smile, "Shall we?"

Ansel nodded to her and drew a sword from his belt as Talia cleared her mind and allowed her power to course through her. This was going to be a long night.

Wolf after wolf she fought and slew, sometimes snapping a neck or pulling out a heart, she attempted to keep her thoughts from straying to how horrible this was but she knew it was in defense of herself and those she cared about and she tried to mostly use her powers to knock the wolves out. She heard Ansel fighting somewhere near her but never allowed herself pause to seek him out with her eyes. She knew the moment she dropped her guard she ran the risk of being bitten, again, or worse.

"No!" she heard a familiar voice shout and began to fight her way through the wolves to find the person that voice belonged to. She found Ansel and, surprisingly, Klaus talking rather intensely a few graves away. "You're a phantom conjured by Ester, that's all you are. Mother! Stop this charade! I know that thing is not real!"

"Look at me, Niklaus," Ansel demanded. Talia watched the scene unable to move or intervene, something strange was happening. Klaus turned back to Ansel slowly. "I am flesh and blood, your flesh and blood." Wait they were related? Who could he possibly be? Everyone else in the Mikaelson family she knew had already been resurrected, save Henrik. But Talia had a feeling he was beyond Ester's reach. So who was this man?

"You've been dead a thousand years!" Klaus cried out with such emotion. Talia had only seen him this way a handful of times.

"And for that time I lingered on the Other side, watching you let the world fall apart. Until I woke up, four moons passed among wolves like myself."

"No! No! No! You're just in my head," Klaus insisted. "You're just an illusion, meant by my mother to sway me to accept her bargain."

"I do not speak for Ester," Ansel denied. "I know nothing of her bargains. But you are my son." His son? Was this man Klaus' biological father? Ansel reached up as if to touch Klaus cheek but the Hybrid caught his wrist and stared at a tattoo on his arm.

"Your son?" Talia gasped revealing herself. Both men looked up at her in alarm.

"Talia?" Klaus questioned. "What are you doing here?

The young vampire shrugged as she approached them, "It's a long story. Did Ester tell you where Elijah is?"

Klaus nodded, "Just a moment." He turned back to his biological father. "Even if what you say is real, you are nothing to me. For all I care you can crawl back to Hell. Come Talia." Klaus zipped off and Talia gave Ansel an apologetic look before following after her future brother.

Talia was only a few seconds behind Klaus when they arrived at a mausoleum and found Elijah chained to the walls. He was on his knees, covered in blood, and passed out. Talia ran to him as Klaus tore off a voodoo doll that hung from the ceiling. Klaus and Talia then each took a chain and ripped it out of the wall then off of the passed unconscious Original. Talia took Elijah into her arms and sat him up.

She gently cupped his face, "Elijah, wake up, please, wake up."

"He won't wake," a quiet voice informed them. She and Klaus glanced up to the entrance of the mausoleum and saw Ester standing there. "Not yet." Talia glared at the mother of her beloved. "Which gives you and I one last chance to discuss my offer. Hello Talia, dear, you and I shall talk soon as well."

Klaus took a step toward his mother, "You promised me Elijah's safe return. What was that, a lie? Just like that ghoulish atrocity outside claiming to be my father back from the dead?"

"Your father's return is real," Ester explained. "I pulled him from the Other side before it collapsed. Left him out in the bayou with the wolves and used the execution of one of his own to draw him here, where I knew he'd find you."

"To what end?" Klaus demanded, his lip quivering with emotion. "Besides my torment?"

Ester's head titled to the side and for a moment Talia saw a flash of the same expression and gesture from her mother many years ago. The young vampire shook her head to shut out the images, no, this woman did not deserve to be compared to her mother. "I brought him here to be the father you never had, to teach you to be the man you always longed to be. Once you are remade as a werewolf, you can join him."

"His return changes nothing," Klaus told her, a resolved expression falling on his features.

"It changes everything," Ester said adamantly. "It is my gift to you, Niklaus. This offer is your last chance at salvation, reject me now and you live out your endless days unloved and alone. Do not refuse me out of some ancient spite."

"Not spite," Klaus argued, his temper beginning to flare. "Hatred. A hatred that's deeper and greater now than the day I first took your life."

"Why?" Ester pleaded, desperate to know the reason behind his loathing. "After all I've done to explain to you, why do you persist-"

Klaus suddenly cut her off by grabbing her throat and shoving into the nearest wall. Talia watched as such pain, hatred, and anger gushed out of Klaus. "You came for my child! My daughter! Your own blood!"

"You don't understand," Ester tried to say but was lacking the oxygen.

"My child!"

"Niklaus," Ester squeaked again. "I…had to." Blood began to spout from Klaus' nose as Ester tried to use magic to free herself. But Klaus did not release his grip on Ester's throat. Talia gently laid Elijah down and stood.

Gently she placed her hand on Klaus arm, "Klaus, brother." He stilled for a moment and looked at her. "She doesn't deserve to die like this, after everything she has done to our family, this is too easy a fate."

He stared at her for a moment before returning his eyes to his mother. "You declared war when you came after my family. And for that I will make you suffer as only I can. After all, I am my mother's son." Finally, he released her and she fell to the ground gasping for breath. Klaus turned to Talia and gave her a slight nod before picking Elijah up and throwing his brother over his shoulder.

Talia paused as Klaus left the mausoleum and turned back to crouch next to Ester. "You're wrong, you know. He won't be alone and unloved because Elijah and I will never allow that to happen. He is my brother and I will not let evil creatures like you torture him anymore." With that Talia stood up and walked away from her future monster-in-law.

When she returned to the compound she found that Klaus had lain Elijah down on their bed and he stood by with Haley waiting for Elijah to awaken. But the moment Talia saw her fiancée lying there, she did not care for the questioning or watching eyes as she curled up next to him on the bed and watched him sleep, praying he would awake soon and all would be right in the world once more.

_*15 years later*_

_I gasped, "Thank God Klaus found him but what Ester must've put him through. And then Klaus' biological father!"_

_Talia nodded, "Tell me about it. But we had Elijah back so it was a start."_


	9. Chapter 9

_Before the doors close_

_And it comes to an end_

_With you by my side I will fight and defend_

Talia awoke the in the wee hours of the next morning curled into Elijah's side. He was still asleep, only now he was tossing and turning as if in a nightmare as sweat coated his skin. She decided to take off his coat, tie, and button up shirt and instead put him in a simple white t-shirt. Sadly, she watched him writhe in agony for a few moments before slipping into the bathroom to shower. When she stepped out of the bathroom, wrapped in a fluffy towel, Klaus was now standing over Elijah, talking lowly to him and resting his hand on Elijah's glistening forehead.

"Let me end whatever torment she has forced upon you," Klaus growled as his nose began to bleed.

Talia ran over and pulled Klaus away from his brother. The Hybrid whirled around and grasped her wrists. "What are you doing?" Talia breathed bringing Klaus back to his senses.

Klaus released her and wiped the blood from beneath his nostrils. "Trying to enter Elijah's thoughts to wake him. Ester's blocked me out."

"I know, I've been trying to get into his subconscious all night but something keeps throwing me back into my own head," Talia told him as she approached Elijah's bedside and pulled down the sleeve of his shirt to reveal a strange rash. "Is this rash a side effect of the witchy acid trip he's on?" She'd noticed it when she had tried to cool Elijah's fever by changing his clothes.

Klaus stepped to her side and observed the strange markings, "I haven't seen this since I was a child. Mikael would return home from battle, more blindly temperamental than usual and our mother would use the petals of a rare merilock orchid to put him to sleep. She would mend his mind with a spell and then wake him with the roots of the same plant. If she has access to it now, it may also grow in the bayou." Klaus turned to her. "Stay here with Haley and the wolves and hold the fort. Elijah is more vulnerable now and needs to be protected."

Klaus began to leave as Talia called after him, "I'd rather rip your mother's head off."  
>"Stay clear of her," Klaus ordered turning back to his future sister. "I mean it, Talia, she has yet to make her offer to you though I doubt it would be much different from the others she has made to us. What would happen if Elijah were to wake and find you a victim of her madness, and just days before your wedding, I might add?"<p>

Talia sighed, "I won't go after her, I promise." Klaus stared at her for a moment before leaving the room. The young vampire turned to her lover on the bed, still shaking and sweating from his nightmares. "I've learned a few things from your mother," she told Elijah, knowing he couldn't hear her. "I won't go after her, I'll go after everything that she loves." She bent over and placed a gentle kiss on Elijah's clammy forehead. "And maybe when you wake, you'll find a larger family reunion than you expected."

Talia journeyed downstairs and found Haley nursing a glass of Jack in the courtyard. She seemed lost in thought and her brown eyes flickered to the door every few seconds like she was debating if she should leave or not.

"Hey," she called to the hybrid causing Haley to look up at her as she approached. "I've got a proposition for you."

Haley seemed to notice the wicked gleam in Talia's eyes and straightened a bit, "I'm listening."

"Klaus just left to go find this plant that should wake Elijah but God only knows how long it will be before he finds it so, I was thinking we could do a bit of witch hunting today. You see, Ester hurt the person I love most in the world and I intend to return the favor by going after Finn and I need your help. If we can pull together with Marcel and maybe even Aiden, we might just stand a chance."

Haley's eyes were wide, "Are we going to kill him?"

Talia just shook her head, "No, that would be too easy. We're going to capture him somehow and present him to Klaus and Elijah when we get back and with a little persuasion we might find Ester's weakness." The slow smile on Haley's face was all the confirmation she needed that she had at least one ally today.

From there the two friends split up. Haley was going to go out to the bayou to talk to Jackson and try to convince him to help. Haley had told Talia about Oliver's death, much to the vampire's shock and grief. This news only fueled Talia's desire to defeat Finn and she would do everything in her power to make it happen. While Haley was in the bayou, Talia called Josh and asked him to try and get in touch with Aiden and for both of them to meet her at Marcel's place in about an hour. Talia then went upstairs to change after realizing she'd still been in her towel the entire time.

Back downstairs as morning began to fill the compound, Talia quickly called another friend of hers, "Hey Gia, it's Talia. I need your help, can you get here in about five minutes?"

Not too minutes later, Gia strolled into the compound and gave the blue eyed vampire a hug, "So, what's the emergency?"

"I have a plan and I need you to stay here and protect Elijah," Talia told her.

Gia's dark eyebrows shot up in surprise, "You found him."

Talia nodded, "But he's still asleep, he'd been through a lot in the last couple of days. Haley's wolves are here as well and Haley's ordered them to keep the place on lockdown. No one but me, her, or Klaus gets in or out, got it?" Gia nodded and Talia hugged her once more before zipping across town to Marcel's place.

Haley met her outside with Aiden at her side. Talia nodded to them, noticing that Jackson wasn't with them, and together they went inside. "Where's your Alpha?" Marcel questioned the moment they walked in.

"Unavailable," Haley answered curtly.

"So you brought junior varsity?" Marcel replied snidely from his comfy chair. "You know, I'm getting a little tired of you using my place as a den for wayward wolves."

"Well, it's just that we're taking down Finn Mikaelson today, and considering how he treated your vampires, we assumed you'd want in on the bloodbath," Talia explained as she sat down on the couch in front of Marcel, Haley and Aiden following her.

Marcel leaned forward, obviously intrigued, "I'm listening."

"Well, it's not going to be easy," Aiden announced. "He's surrounded by a pack of juiced up wolves, he doesn't have a weakness."

"He does," Marcel corrected, earning a small smirk from Talia, who knew exactly where he was going with this. "And I have her on speed dial, he's got a thing for Cami."

"Klaus will go ballistic if we get Cami involved in this," Talia reminded the elder vampire.

Marcel merely shrugged, "Well, Klaus isn't here. And Cami, she's got this thing about people telling her what she can and can't do." He looked at both Talia and Haley meaningfully. "I trust you both understand." After a quick phone call Cami was on board. She'd ask Finn out for a drink that night and then the plan would be set in motion.

Aiden then produced a map so they could plan out how they would capture Finn. "So Cami said Vincent wants to meet at Preservation Hall. It won't be unprotected, there will be wolves positioned here and here."

Marcel rubbed his chin before pointing at a spot on the map, "Can we keep this alley open?" Aiden nodded his ascent.

"Good I'll hide there and rip his head off," Haley growled menacingly.

Talia shook her head, "No, we need him alive, besides he'd just body jump and we don't have his soul marked like Ester."

"His head stays on," Cami announced as she entered the room with a box in her hands. She set it down on the table on top of the map. "He'll have a hard time answering our questions without it."

"Sweet, it's a big box of dusty old junk, we're saved!" Josh said sarcastically as Cami took the lid off to reveal several strange objects within the box. Talia chuckled and she noticed Aiden duck his head and bite his lip as if trying not to laugh.

Cami gave Josh an amused and exasperated look, "They're dark objects my uncle left for me. I've been cataloging them according to Kieran's notes, from what I can tell these can be used against witches specifically."

Marcel dipped his hand in and pulled out a long pair of manacles. "Kinky," Haley noted sardonically and a light blush flashed across Talia's cheeks.

"Oh I remember these," Marcel announced earning curious looks from everyone in the room. He quickly recovered and explained, "a hundred years ago the humans waged war on the Voo Doo Queens. They had a traitor spell these manacles so slap them on a witch, they can't do magic as long as they're on."

"All right, well, we're not going to get the Handcuffs of Doom on him while he's surrounded by a werewolf entourage," Josh pointed out.

"So we lure him away, I can do that," Aiden suggested.

Talia looked over at the blonde, "Cami, you know that if we do this, you're the bait. Are you sure you're okay with that?"

Cami was silent for a moment before meeting all of their gazes confidently, "Just make it look convincing, the guy's really smart."

That night, Cami and Finn were enjoying a jazz band perform. On the rooftop, Talia stood with Marcel and Josh watching the alley and down below Haley and Aiden hid in the shadows to attack Cami. Talia pulled her cell out of her pocket and called the blonde down in the club below. "Hello?" came the reply.

"Hey, are you ready?" Talia questioned.

Cami was silent for a moment, "Let's do this."

"Okay, Haley should be grabbing you in three…two…one-" the line went dead. And down below Cami appeared with Haley, hidden beneath a hood, bit into the blonde's neck. Cami screamed and struggled as she was taken down to the ground.

A moment later, Finn rounded the corner and yelled, "Hey!" at Cami's attacker. Haley turned so as to show Finn her yellow eyes before crawling away from Cami and scaling the nearest building. Finn knelt over Cami to make sure she was all right but a whistle from Haley made him look up allowing Marcel to zip behind, grab Cami, before the Original could even turn back to find the blonde's body gone.

Everyone met up at St. Anne's. Not a moment after they arrived, Aiden received a frantic call from Finn. "Camille's been taken, she was attacked and it was a wolf bite! Who broke rank?"

"I'll knock some heads together and find out," Aiden assured him.

"I'll know where Camille is shortly, you'll meet me there, come alone because our wolves can't be trusted," Finn ordered before hanging up.

Aiden ended the call and slipped his phone back in his pocket as he turned to the others, "Well h bought it, his locator spell will bring him here without body guards."

Haley sat beside Cami at the front of the church by the altar and bit into her wrist before pouring the blood from the wound into a cup for Cami to drink so she would heal. "I always thought having a woman's mouth on my neck would be more erotic," Cami joked earning a grin from Talia.

"You'll heal fast. Let's get all of these lights off," Haley ordered and the others set out to do just that.

Marcel suddenly grabbed Talia's arm and pulled her away from the others. "I just got a call from one of my vampires, Davina's back in town, they spotted her and Kol near the cemetery a few hours ago. I want you to help me find her."

Talia nodded but thought better of it, "But what about Finn, do you think they can handle him?"

"As long as Cami's here and he thinks she is in danger, he'll be too blind to defend himself. Talia, this may be our only chance to get Kol away from Davina," Marcel pressed.

Talia sighed, "All right, but on one condition. We leave Davina alone, kidnapping her won't do us any good but there is another set of magical manacles so if we can get those on Kol, we can get answers from him Finn might not be willing to give."

Marcel nodded, "Deal."

"All right, give me two minutes to tell Haley where we're going," Talia requested before turning away and rushing over to tell the hybrid the plan. Haley and Cami seemed to understand, particularly with Marcel's over-protective dad nature when it came to Davina.

They went to the cemetery first and followed Davina's scent around town before ending up back at St. Anne's. They shared a look before zipping up to the attic. The door was ajar and inside Davina was passed out on the bed as Kol stood over her. After a moment Kol seemed to sense their presence and whirled around. But before he could utter a single word Talia pulled him out of the room with her powers and slammed him up against the wall of the hallway. Marcel jumped in and quickly put the shackles on Kol's wrists. The Original chuckled, "Well, I have to say I'm impressed. Didn't expect you two to tag team me but considering the way Davina seems to care for the both of you, I suppose I shouldn't be so surprised." He held up his chained wrists. "And where did you two dig these things up?"

"Well, that's our little secret and you are gonna be spilling your secrets very soon," Marcel assured him before punching him square in the jaw and effectively knocking Kol out. Talia followed Marcel out to his car, levitating Kol behind her and allowing the Original to bonk his head on walls every now and then. Once at Marcel's car she put Kol inside before Marcel closed the trunk door.

Just then Talia's phone buzzed in her pocket, "Klaus?"

"Talia, I'm on my way home. I've managed to retrieve the plant I spoke of earlier. Elijah should be awake soon," Klaus told her.

"Okay, I'll be home soon," she assured him.

Klaus was silent for a moment, "Where are you now?"

Talia's mind raced to find an excuse, "I was just running a few last minute wedding errands. I'll meet you there." She hung up and turned to the vampire beside her. "I'm gonna go. You should go grab Haley and Finn, take Cami home, and then bring them to the compound in about a half hour."

"All right, go get your man, I'll bring your future brothers home to be tortured," Marcel told her earning a smile. She nodded to him before zipping back home.

When she reached her bedroom Klaus stood over Elijah applying some sort of paste with a flowery scent to Elijah's neck. "...are the demons lurking in shadow. We are the savage villains in fairytales told to children. But not for my child. Not for Hope." Small tears gathered in the corners of Talia's blue eyes. "In her story we are the knights in shining armor. Without you by my side, I don't think I can survive my love for my own daughter. I need you, Talia needs you. The monster in me can only be checked by the monster in you, and only Talia can keep us from tearing each other apart. Only together can we defeat our demons and save our family."

Elijah suddenly jumped awake, his breathing was erratic as his eyes flew up to Klaus. Both stared at each other for a moment before Talia slowly stepped more into the room. Elijah's brown eyes left his brother and locked with hers. Talia smiled a watery smile as Elijah slowly stood. Within three long strides, Elijah pulled Talia into his arms. His hand rested on her hip as the other came up to wipe the tears from Talia's cheek.

"Hi," she breathed reaching up to touch his cheek. She needed to know he was here, that he was real.

With a small crooked grin his lips descended on hers. Their kiss was passionate, sparked by separation and longing. Klaus clearing his throat caused them to pull away. "Not to ruin the moment but there are things the three of us need to discuss."

"Very well, allow me to change first and I will meet both of you in the study," Elijah requested. Both Klaus and Talia nodded as Talia untangled herself from Elijah's arms. However, the newly awakened Original grabbed Talia's wrist and pulled her into a second kiss. After a moment Talia broke the kiss and beamed up at her fiancée before kissing his cheek and leaving the room.

Talia was stilling grinning when she joined Klaus in the study. "It's good to see you smile again, Talia, you've been awfully sad looking these past few days." Klaus took a step toward her. "But I know that your activities today were not wedding related."

The grin slipped off of Talia's face, "I can explain but I have a feeling your questions about my whereabouts will be answered soon." Klaus gave her an odd look as Elijah entered the room. He was nearly completely suited up, minus a suit jacket, which was in his hand, and his tie was undone.

Elijah pointed to the small book in Klaus hand that Talia hadn't noticed, "What is it?"

"I spent the day with my father. My real father," Klaus admitted earning surprised looks from both vampires. "Ester brought him back from the dead believing he could persuade me to renounce vampirism. I thought of what I could be had I been raised by him, had I been nurtured." That same pain Talia had seen with Ansel in the cemetery fell across Klaus' face. He held the book out to Elijah who had crossed the room, draped his jacket over one of the chairs, and now stood with his arm around Talia's waist. "This was his." Elijah unwrapped it and found a drawing of a young boy, Talia assumed was Klaus as a child. "He knew about Hope." Elijah and Talia looked up from the drawing in alarm. Their niece could be in danger. "I wanted to trust him, more than anything in the world I wanted to. I couldn't be sure. And I would never forgive myself is something happened to her because of my selfish desire for a father. So I killed him, without hesitation I killed him."

Elijah released Talia and moved toward his brother. "You killed him for Hope? Whatever innocence remains we must protect at any cost," Elijah told his brother, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Talia picked up Elijah's suit jacket as the brother's separated. Elijah gave her a small smile as she helped him put it on and knotted his tie. He stared at her for a moment as if he was in some other place. "Are you okay?" Talia questioned snapping Elijah out of whatever world he was in.

He offered her another small smiled, "I am now. And I do believe if I've counted the days correctly are wedding is but a few days." Talia grinned as she leaned in to place a firm kiss on his lips.

"I'm serious, Elijah, how do feel?" Talia told him earnestly once she broke away.

He sighed, "The worst is passed." The Original then turned to his brother. "Though I suspect the worst is far from over."

Klaus nodded, "Well then gather your strength, after the massage I sent mother tonight I expect hellfire to rain down on us eminently."

"We have to make a move before she strikes," Elijah reasoned earnestly.

As if on cue Marcel and Haley appeared in the doorway. "Moves were made while you were sleeping," Marcel informed the Original.

He surveyed the two newcomers curiously, "What did you two do?"

"Not two," Talia corrected causing both her fiancée and future brother to look over at her slightly confused. "Three."

Haley nodded to Elijah, "Good to see you vertical. We have gifts for you two in the ballroom. You're welcome."

Klaus and Elijah shared a look before rushing out of the room with Talia hot on their heels. The doors of the ballroom flung open as all three vampires entered. There, chained up on each side of the room to the two separate staircases, stood Kol and Finn.

"Kidnapping? That's a rather unpleasant way to begin a family reunion," Kol observed, sarcastic even when caught.

A smirk slowly spread across Klaus' lips, "Well, wait until you see how we end it."

_*15 years later*_

_"Thank God Elijah's okay," I sighed quietly in relief. Something flashed across Talia's eyes. "He was all right, wasn't he?"_

_"Not exactly," Talia admitted. "Ester's tortures really got to him."_

_"But you captured Finn and Kol, that had to be an advantage against Ester."_

_Talia smiled slightly, "Now, that got interesting..."_


End file.
